


Pin mounted wings

by wendibros



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dark, Boys being broken and needing each other, Do I love you or do I just need to be beside you?, Dubious Consent, Heavy Angst, I'm not even kidding, Kinda, M/M, Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Minor Character Death, Stockholm Syndrome, like this fic took a dark turn, no actual rape but dub-con elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-19
Updated: 2015-11-15
Packaged: 2018-04-27 02:02:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 45,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5029438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wendibros/pseuds/wendibros
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chris finds out about Josh's plan a week before the prank is supposed to happen. Having spent the past year alone with his friend, the blond has been swallowed by the darkness that is Josh's mind and he's helpless but to agree to be a part of the plan and scare their friends together with Josh.</p><p>Naturally, things don't really end up the way they planned them to.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING!
> 
> If you read the tags, you know that this will be one fucked up fic.
> 
> One day we started to discuss what the story would be like if Chris knew about the plan, if they both were mentally unstable and blamed the others for Beth and Hannah's death.
> 
> The result was a very dark story about two friends going on a killing-spree after battling their mental health issues for a year, not realizing they were pulling each other deeper into the void.

It had not been hard to make the connection between the two white pills he had found behind the toilet while picking up the toilet paper roll he had dropped and his friend's sudden change of mood and personality. What he didn't understand was the reason behind such an activity.

For as long as he knew, the medication had helped Josh remain somewhat stable, even after his sisters had passed away. Or so he had thought. Apparently Josh disagreed, if the brunette truly had flushed down his medication. Chris had tried to be there for Josh as much as he could. He spent most of his time at the Washington's estate, remaining by his friend's side during the funeral and the nights when the pain would be too much for them to handle and he would have his arms full of a numb brunette.

Hannah and Beth had been like sisters for him as well, and the fact they had lost them too early because of a stupid prank their 'friends' had pulled on them had Chris cutting nearly most of the contact with them for months.

The anniversary of their death was fast approaching, and the tension was thick in the air.

Still, too lost in his own grief he had failed to notice that at some point, Josh had stopped his medication.

Guilt washed over him as he finally left the room, making his way to Josh's bedroom and wasted no time in shoving the pills under Josh's nose. "What's this? What on earth were you thinking, Josh? When did you stop taking these?"

Looking up from the comic book that he had been busying himself with during his wait for Chris to return, Josh couldn't help but blink a couple of times when he found himself suddenly having a pair of pills shoved under his nose. Shoving the hand away with a growl of irritation, the older of the two men wanted nothing more then to tell the other male to shut up and mind his own business. 

"Those are old as hell man. I dumped them ages ago when the doctor put me on something else. Don't worry about it and lets just get back to our game." Gesturing towards the PS4 that laid paused nearby, his eyes flickered slightly, catching sight of his sisters from the corner of his eyes.

Josh would never forget the way the two had looked when they had gone to identify the bodies. Beth had died instantly, but Hannah, Hannah had been alive for days, weeks before she had ultimately succumbed to her wounds and starvation. At least that's what the police had told them. Josh had been too far gone at that point to really listen. All he could see was Hannah's far too thin and far too blue face and the way Beth's skull seemed to dip in on itself. All he could see were his beautiful little sisters lying on that table, their once lively eyes now cold and lifeless. It was something that had haunted him for months in his dreams and now even his waking moments in the form of vibrant and unsettling hallucinations.

The hallucinations had come shortly after he had dumped his pills that first time three months ago, right after his return from a month in some mental health institute. He had been so fed up with it all, so tired of feeling and so tired of living that he had dumped them down the toilet and just flushed. He had expected side effects. Hell, he had hoped maybe he would have a seizure and end up becoming a brain dead vegetable for the rest of his life. But fate had never been particularly kind to him and instead he had begun suffering hallucinations and psychotic breakdowns.

The Hannah and Beth of his hallucinations were hardly themselves. They were cold, evil people that tormented his mind. Playing with his grief and guilt, at least until one night he had somehow managed to appease them with promises of vengeance. They had shifted after that, into something far easier to handle. They were still cruel, but not towards him. Not on a regular basis anyway. Instead their hatred was centered on the people who had killed them. The people who claimed to be their friends.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Josh found his gaze slowly shifting up towards Chris, offering him a very fake smile.

Chris and Sam were the only two people whose blood his sisters did not crave. The two had played no part in the prank that had cost the two girls their lives after all. Or maybe they did crave their blood, and it was just Josh's own affections for the two that made them silent. He had always been very fond of Chris after all, and Sam had been almost like a third sister.

"I haven't seen you eat any pills in months, man. I wish you didn't feel like you have to lie to me, out of all people." Chris argued taking a seat on the floor close to the controllers, tossing the pills in the paper trash nearby.

For a long moment, Josh was silent, his eyes locked onto Chris as he watched the other man dispose of what was left of this months pills in the trash. The younger man obviously didn't believe him. The disbelief was written all over his face. Yet he still chose to toss the pills and allow Josh to continue on with his little 'adventure'.

From behind Chris, Hannah and Beth observed the blond with unreadable expressions on their cold, dead faces. It was so much harder to tell what they were thinking now that they were nothing more then a pair of corpses in his mind. Ironic. One would think he would know immediately what they were thinking, since they were only fragments of his own imagination.

"Why don't you tell him Josh? Tell him about us. About our plan. He loved us too Josh." Beth said, vanishing from her place beside Hannah to appear at the foot of Josh's bed, causing Josh's eyes to dart to her briefly.

"He can still play the part of the hero of your little story." Hannah added, her imaginary fingers ghosting over the cheek of the man on the floor, teasing Josh in a way that had him tightening his fists. 

Chris was supposed to be the hero. He was supposed to suffer the most but ultimately come out looking like a champion alongside Sam, while all the others wallowed in their own disgusting filth. How would he be able to play his part if he knew? 

Yet the blonde's words ate at his hypersensitive brain. The idea of telling him about his plan had dug itself in and was refusing to let go. Chris had loved his sisters too. He deserved a chance at vengeance just as much as Josh did. But first, first Josh needed to make him understand. 

"You... want to know the truth, Cochise? You can't handle the truth." He said, letting out a shaky laugh, mind jumping back and forth between whether or not he should really go through with this. "...maybe you can... you've been around me so long... if anyone could understand it would be you."

The disbelief quickly gave space to confusion, and the blond spun around on the floor to give Josh a curious look. There was a distant look in his friend's large eyes, one that spoke of trauma and loneliness. He wished he could just wipe that look off of his face and replace it with joy and happiness.

Unfortunately it was hard to give Josh those emotions when he hardly felt those himself.

"What are you talking about, man? What's going on?" He asked shifting a bit closer to the brunette, looking up with what he hoped was reassurance. 

Rising from his bed, Josh moved slowly towards where 'Hannah' and Chris were situated on the floor. His gaze was clouded and his expression showing a conflict, yet ultimately he seemed to snap out of it by the time he had joined Chris on the floor. "...You're right. I stopped taking my pills months ago."

Lips pulling into a bitter smile, Josh allowed his gaze to settle on his own hands, holding them so he could follow the lines in his palms with his eyes. "They stopped doing what they were supposed to. At first I tried to up the dosage myself, but that didn't work either. Eventually, I just decided fuck it and dumped them down the drain." Slowly, he held out his hand, miming the action of slowly dumping the pills into the toilet while he let out noises that seemed to be an impression of them hitting the water, before ultimately 'flushing' them down the drain with a flushing noise.

His lips curled up into a small, unsettling smile as he tilted his head, dark eyes locked onto his friends expression. "A lot of people think depression means you get sad all the time, but that isn't it. Depression is... it's like turning on your car only to find that you have no gas. Only instead of gas, it's fucks. I give absolutely no fucks at all about anything. You could come up to me and just start sucking my dick like it's your favorite motherfucking popsicle and all I'd want to do is go back to bed."

The laughter that bubbled up in his chest was a strange noise indeed, and he wondered if maybe he was going to end up losing Chris after this. At this point though, he had already come too far to back out. "The pills are supposed to help with that. They are supposed to help me feel shit like a regular functioning human being. But... I don't WANT to feel shit like a regular functioning human being. I'd rather just be numb. Wouldn't you? Wouldn't you trade whatever you're feeling right now for just a constant state of 'meh'? You miss them too after all."

Leaning in closer, Josh allowed his hand to settle down on his friend's knee, his smile falling away to a more serious expression. Leaning closer, he lowered his voice into a whisper. "It was supposed to cause seizures you know. Suddenly stopping medications like mine does that to people. But I'm lady fate's bitch so instead of seizures I get to see them. I see them the way they were on that table. Beth's head smashed in like those pumpkins we used to hit with baseball bats after Halloween. Hannah's skin is frostbitten and blue. For a while they hated me Chris. Tore me apart because it was my fault that I couldn't save them."

Shaking his head, he pulled back, falling on his ass and then his back as he looked up at the ceiling with a strange smile on his face. "But then I realized it isn't my fault. It was our so called friends. The ones who chased Hannah from the house because of their dumb ass prank. So... I got to thinking. Planning out a payback prank for what they did to my sisters. I'd terrorize them, mess them up, show them for the backstabbing filth they all are and then post it up on the internet." 

In a flash of movement he was up again, crawling forward to rest his hand softly upon Chris' cheek. "Not you and Sam though. I was going to make you two heroes. You'd make all the tough choices, but I'd make sure the right choices are the ones you would pick. Sam would be the one to take down my villain, but you... you'd get your girl. That would be nice, right Chris? Finally get out of the friend-zone and into the bone-zone."

Josh had lost it. There was no other explanation to why his friend had come up with such a plan, was talking with such excitement in his voice. He had not heard that tone of voice in nearly a year. Chris' mind was reeling from all the information Josh had loaded upon him, the touch on his cheek alerting him back on the present. For a moment he was stuck staring at he empty shell of the brunette, mouth working but no words came out.

When he finally found his voice, he surprised himself as well. "I want in on the plan." 

Beth and Hannah had been like sisters to him as well. He might not have seen their bodies like Josh had, but the brunette had explained quite vividly in what condition the sisters had been in.

All because of a fucking stupid prank.

Chris studied the man in front him for a moment, glad to see the haze in those dark eyes clear for a moment. How could he have been so blind he hadn't realized how much Josh was carrying on his shoulders? Seeing things that were not there, weighted by the guilt of losing his sisters.

"I don't care about Ashley, or being the 'hero'." Chris continued after sucking in a deep breath, fingers sliding up to hold Josh's face between them. He had not cared in a while, when all he could focus on was keeping Josh above the surface. "I want to make them pay from what they did to our sisters."

Slowly, life returned to Josh's eyes, the young man blinking away the daze as he gave his best friend another unstable but sincere smile. "Fuck yeah. I'm always happy to have my wingman along for the ride." From the corner of his eyes the girls both smirked at each other, their voices uttering things that were far less innocent then what he had just said.

"You said you would be honest with him Josh." Beth mocked, a pale hand coming to rest on Chris' shoulder, her dead eyes watching him with a sharp smirk on his features. "Why are you lying to him still?"

"Shouldn't you be telling him how happy you would be to ride your wingman?" Asked Hannah, her own ghost like arms wrapping around Josh's shoulders as she hugged him from behind. His skin bristled immediately, her skin felt so cold that it would have been able to give him frost bite if she lingered too long.

"You sure though man? You can still be the hero and get the girl. Yeah, I would prefer if that girl was Sam, but I mean if that isn't what you are into I guess Ashley isn't... too bad."

"She still killed us." Beth and Hannah echoed in unison at the thought, but Josh shook them off, finally silencing them for the time being and causing them to disappear from his vision.

"I don't want any girl, man. I mean Sam's alright, but I don't want her that way." Chris replied barely keeping back a snort, pulling his hands away as he relaxed on the floor again. Normally he would not think this way, Chris was more of those people who forgave but never forgot. He hadn't even thought about making the others pay for it. But it made sense now, didn't it?

The troubled expression on Josh's face was hard to miss, and when he crawled backwards so that his back rested against his bed, hands moving to pull at his hair as he tried to make sense of the new information, he allowed a troubled whine to escape his lips. "Fuck. Why couldn't you play your part?! You were supposed to like Ashley. You're messing with the flow." He muttered, eyes darting over towards Chris once more before he let out another, more pitiful noise.

"You were supposed to choose to save her. You were supposed to win the girl. That was a big part of the plan. If you didn't choose her then it wouldn't make any sense..." Lost in his own thoughts, Josh tried to figure out what he could do now. He had been relying on Chris and Ashley in order to supply his 'death' scene. It didn't work if it wasn't them. 

Things only got worse when he came to another potential revelation in regards to Chris' words. The other man had admitted he didn't want a girl, but he had never said anything about a guy. Did Chris want one of their male friends? No. No way. No way was he letting either Matt or Mike touch Chris. 

"Not letting anybody else touch you...fuck the others. They aren't good enough..." Josh said out loud, unaware of the fact he had even done so until he saw Hannah and Beth smirking in the corner. Slowly, in a careful, deliberate manner, he pulled away from his bed to crawl back over to Chris, forehead pressing against that of his friend, hand moving to grasp a fistful of the dark blond hair. 

"Chrissy... tell me you don't want one of them. Like, it's obvious that if you were going to bang a dude it would be me, right? Or maybe one of the Hemsworth brothers. I totally fuck a Hemsworth brother. Just imagine going under with the hot brothers from the land down under. 's fucking hot." Laughing an incredibly unstable laugh, Josh didn't pull away, instead waiting and watching Chris' reaction.

"Josh..." Chris' mind was reeling from the sudden changes, trying to come up with a valid response. Why did it matter whether he liked Ashley or not? He had not felt anything towards the girl after what had come to pass last year, had felt no interest in keeping as much contact with her as before. Besides, most of his time went with worrying about Josh, there was no time for romance.

The blond swallowed, the sudden close contact causing him to tremble ever so slightly. "I'm not going to fuck Mike or Matt, Josh." He finally got out, fingers brushing against the side of Josh's face lightly. "I mean I can always pretend to still like Ash, if it's important to your plan." He pointed out.

"I needed to die. To make it work. So I could move around. So nobody would think it was me." The worlds tumbled out of Josh's mouth like word vomit, his face moving to nuzzle the hand that was softly brushing against his cheek. "There would be a fake body, and a hole I could fit my head into, and a saw blade. You were supposed to have to choose. Me or her. Me or her, but no matter what it would be her. Because it wouldn't have worked if it was me."

"No matter how much you wanted it to be you Josh." Beth whispered sweetly into his ear in a way that made his skin crawl and hair stand on end.

His plan came tumbling out of his mouth after that. All the tiny little details he had spent night stressing over, planning out with a shocking amount of precision. Because even though Josh's was mad he wasn't crazy. He knew what needed to be done in order to make something like this work. Knew he had to calculate everything or it would all fall apart. 

By the time he was finished his mouth felt as dry as sandpaper, his throat soar from talking so much, but his eyes were filled with excitement. He wanted Chris to be a part of this. He wanted the other male to prove that his love for Beth and Hannah, no, his love for Josh, was stronger than that he felt for the people who had hurt them. 

And even if Josh's plan was batshit insane and definitely dangerous, Chris couldn't help but admire how much thought the brunette had put into this. How much he had had to suffer to come up with something as sick as this. But in a way, the plan was also brilliant. No detail was left out, and the more Chris listened, the more excited he got.

That would definitely work in paying back to the others.

As long as he'd manage to keep his fake interest towards Ash up.

Josh had fallen silent, his eyes darting towards his sisters once more, the two mouthing something that he didn't hear but still somehow understood. "Chris... Chris hey... you never did answer my question." The laugh that bubbled from his lips was airy and weightless, like it had no real emotion or substance behind it.

The sudden question however caught him by surprise, and the blond stared at his friend for a long moment before shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know, man. I haven't really thought about that." He lied easily, leaning back on his arms. "I suppose I'd see myself with you or Mike. Definitely not Matt though, he's not my type."

The force in which Josh suddenly pushed Chris down was impressive. Josh had never been the type who had spent too long in the gym, preferring to work out on his own time using the equipment in the families work out room one or twice a month. He had always been active enough not too need it to stay in shape after all. Yet somehow he still managed to move quick enough and with enough force to pin his slightly thicker friend below him.

The look in his eyes was hard to describe. Fear, anger, and something that could only be described as possessiveness loomed on his features, making his already frantic eyes all the more wild. "No. No. Forget him. Forget Mike. Stay away from Mike. I won't... he can't have you. He can't take you too." He whispered leaning down, hands slowly following the line of his friends arms down to his wrist, holding them as he shifted to partially lie over his friend.

It was a position Josh had dreamed about in the past, but not under these circumstances. No, never under these circumstances. 

"He's always a lot less clothed." Was Beth's cruel reply to his thoughts as Josh let out a small whimper, ducking his head down to nuzzle into Chris' neck as she and Hannah began to laugh. Laugh over his failure to convey himself to the man below him. To tell him how much he had always adored him.

The anger dissipated, leaving only fear and the desperate urge to keep Chris close. Burying his head as far as he could, he let out a weak noise into the soft fabric of the blonde's shirt. "Stay away from Mike. Please Chris... he took Hannah and Beth away. I don't know what I would do if he took you too." Without thinking, he pressed a soft kiss to the other man's shoulder, the grip on the other's wrists loosening their hold. 

"If you need something, come to me. I'll do it for you. So don't... don't ever think of him. Don't ever fall for his lies."

Josh's hands had moved away from Chris' wrists to bury themselves in the fabric of his best friends shirt, clinging so tightly that his knuckles had gone white. Hysterical sobs wrenched themselves from his lips, snot welling in his nose and dribbling grossly onto the other man's collar, yet Josh physically couldn't pull himself away. He needed to hold Chris. Needed to be held.

"I love you, man. I love you so much." The words tumbled from his lips like the delirious ramblings of the crazy man who stood on the street corner near town hall, loud and slurred but filled with so much raw emotion that it left Josh feeling sick. "I can't lose you. Not you. Or Sammy. But especially you."

"I'm here, man. Won't leave, just let it out." Chris repeated in a quiet mantra, lips pressing on Josh's forehead after a moment of hesitation before the blond wasted no time in wrapping both of his arms around Josh, making a wounded noise in the back of his throat. "Need just you, only you." He murmured weakly, nuzzling his nose in Josh's hair.

Just like he had been there for Josh, Josh had been there for him. The only one who understood, the only one who did not judge.

He could not hurt Josh, and he definitely were not going to force himself upon his friend.

He'd rather die. 

He felt relief that Josh was showing his emotion, mainly because with luck it would mean that his friend would feel a bit better, and hopefully trust him a bit more. It was the first time that he had let the other man see him like this. Even at the funeral Josh had kept his emotions in check. He had needed to, for his parents and for Sam. For Chris.

So he had kept them at bay, instead centering on bringing weak smiles to the faces of those who had come to say goodbye to two girls who had left the world far too soon. He made jokes about things the girls had done. What they would say if they were standing there watching everyone now. Stupid things that had made all the difference to the other people there but had just made him feel more miserable inside.

He had been pretending to be strong, when in truth he was probably the weakest of them all. Chris' words had just been the hammer that shattered the porcelain mask that Josh had been holding against his face.


	2. Chapter 2

Josh continued to sob and mumble nonsense into Chris' shoulder and neck for a good thirty minutes after that. To the older man it felt as if his emotional breakdown would last forever. Every time he thought it was over another wave of grief hit him and the tears started anew. By the time he had cried out every last bit of emotion he was utterly and completely exhausted. 

He couldn't say he felt better. No, he wouldn't feel better until vengeance had been served and the others got what they deserved. But he did feel considerably less weighed down. With the sadness he had been bottling up finally let free his mind was clearer, more able to center on their plan then ever before.

Their plan. Not just his plan. Their plan. 

Chris was now his teammate in this. His partner in crime. The Bonnie to Josh's incredibly unstable Clyde. The thought brought a chuckle to his lips. The first sign that he was breaking out of his misery and into something a bit more manageable. 

Pulling his head away from Chris' shoulder, he offered the other man a weak smile. "'m sorry for messing up your shirt. I'll let you borrow one of mine if you want." Carefully, he slid himself off the other male, coming to rest on his knees next to Chris as he wiped the tears and snot from his face with his sleeve. "...and sorry for... you know. The freak out. And the weird questions. I'm... a little messed up in the head right now."

Chris propped himself up as soon as he could, cracking his back and neck with a soft sigh. He would definitely have muscle aches later. "Don't apologize." He replied giving the brunette a tiny smile in return. "Not your fault. I think we should clean up and retire for the night, and discuss tomorrow about this plan of ours." He added grabbing a hold of his shirt and peeled it off before tossing it in the corner.

Chris smiled reassuringly at his friend, standing up slowly, stretching his arms above his head. "That sound good to you?"

Josh nodded dumbly in response to the blond haired man's suggestion, the weariness brought on by his long crying session making the idea of sleep very appealing. Yet there was also a desire to keep Chris close that made him hesitant to allow the younger man to head to the guest room he was using. His face took on a conflicted expression, dark eyes staring blankly at Chris as he joined his friend on his feet, his gaze once more turning glassy as he tried to figure out the best remedy for his dilemma.

The glassy look didn't leave his face even when he reached out to gently take hold of Chris' wrist, his eyes tilted down as if what he was about to ask was something he felt ashamed over. "Stay here with me tonight." He pleaded, voice soft, hoping that maybe if he looked as pathetic as he felt that Chris would be able to overlook the awkwardness of the request and agree.

A tiny smile spread on Chris' lips, fingers cupping his friend's chin gently as he tilted his head back up so he could properly meet his eyes. "I was not going to leave." The blond replied truthfully. "You're going to have to deal with my blanket hogging tonight."

There was something about those words that resonated in Josh's head. Chris had never intended to leave. He wasn't going anywhere. From this point on they were in this together. 

Josh would have felt guilty if he wasn't so absolutely thrilled.

Beth and Hannah watched them both in silence from the corner, their lifeless eyes watching as Josh allowed Chris to lift his chin up so that their eyes could meet once more. Josh's lips cracked into a small smile to mirror that of his companion, though his eyes remained as glassy as before. 

"What, are you planning on turning yourself into a Chrisitto?" The word play was horrible, but Josh grinned anyway, pushing softly at the other male's shoulder in a teasing gesture. Life was slowly returning to his eyes, but the grip on his friend's wrist remained. He wasn't ready to let go just yet.

"I might, with double sausage inside." Chris replied teasingly, waggling his eyebrows at the implication he would roll together under the blanket with Josh before chuckling softly.

"Sausage doesn't go in a burrito." Was the quick response. amusement twinkling in Josh's eyes as his smile slowly returned to something a bit more genuine. 

"We'll have to see, won't we?" Chris asked brushing his fingers of his free hand down Josh's arm, offering him quiet comfort. He felt like he was back on the fourth grade, comforting a smaller version of Josh when he had fallen off the tree fracturing his arm.

Expect this was the kind of pain the cast could not heal.

"Come on, let's get you to bed." Chris said nudging the other towards the bed, staying close to Josh so that the brunette could still hold on to him should he need or want it.

The sensation of Chris' fingers running over his arm had probably been meant to be comforting, but it only served to make the older male hyper-aware of their current closeness. Chris was standing in front of him shirtless and about to climb into bed with him. It was a miracle that Josh still had the control not to jump the oblivious man's bones.

Licking lips that suddenly felt far too dry, Josh followed silently after his friend, his body moving on instinct to sit down on his king sized bed, releasing Chris' wrist so that they could sit comfortably side by side. It was a luxury that Josh had never questioned but always hated growing up. A bed that big was meant for sharing after all and without someone beside you the vast amount of space only made the bed seem empty. Lonely even. Maybe that was why he was always so eager to curl up against Chris when they had fallen asleep together on this very bed as children. 

His fingers fumbled with the buttons of the blue and white plaid button up shirt he was wearing, his eyes watching his hands as they tried and failed to undress himself. He had no idea why he was suddenly so nervous. He had stripped in front of Chris millions of times before, but somehow today it felt different. He felt so much more vulnerable now. For what felt like eternity he worked at the buttons, frustration building as his fingers simply could not find the small amount of dexterity needed to take them out of their sockets, a whine forming on his lips.

Shifting carefully beside Josh, Chris reached out for the buttons, hesitating a bit as he looked at the brunette. "Let me help." he mumbled softly, giving the other a gentle smile before he started to work the buttons out of their sockets.

Button by button he revealed the darker skin for him, thoughts immediately drifting to how beautiful Josh was, despite the sickness of his mind.

He swallowed, pushing the shirt down Josh's shoulders, his smile a bit shakier now, a light flush rising on his face. "There."

"Oh just pull him down already. You're pathetic Josh." Hannah said as she stepped in closer, her eyes watching them both with a glimmer of disgust. "You know he'd fuck you. Why don't you just let him and get this whole stupid pining thing over with." She taunted, voice every bit as exasperated as the real Hannah had been over Josh's refusal to tell his best friend about his feelings for him. Maybe that's what made it so much more unsettling.

Slowly, Josh's hands moved to pulls the rest of the garment off his body, letting it slide of his arms to rest in a pile behind him as he bit softly down at his lip. It was clear that he was purposely avoiding looking at something, though whether it was Chris or the Hannah leering over him he didn't know. Instead he turned his gaze away to look at the wall, fingers moving to rest upon his own bare arms in a gesture that seemed almost defensive.

"...thanks." When had his voice sounded so weak? He had been fine a couple of minutes ago. He had even managed to crack out a joke. Why was it so hard to put his mask back on now that Chris had torn it down? 

He felt incredibly small and self-conscious, sitting there with Chris hovering over him. His body was hardly in the shape it once was, his work out schedule had been shot to shit during his time at the mental institute and his eating habits had suffered a drastic decline over the past couple of months. While he still had a tint of muscle and he didn't come across as unhealthy, he was definitely noticeably thinner then the last time Chris had seen him shirtless. He hoped the other man would be oblivious enough not to notice but he doubted it.

It was obvious Josh had not eaten lately as much as he should. Or then the sickness of his mind kept him from gaining weight, he could not be sure. Either way, Chris grew more worried about the other, and it was obvious by the look on Josh's face that he was ashamed of it as well.

Not wanting to distress his friend further, Chris focused on disrobing himself, tugging his shirt off before throwing it on the chair nearby. "Come on then." His smile was gentle as Chris shifted to sit on the bed instead of looming in front of Josh, opening the button of his jeans before wriggling free from them as well.

A tense silence filled the room as Josh sat there blindly staring as Chris slipped out of his shirt and then his pants. While a part of him was screaming that he should pull his gaze away and give his friend some semblance of privacy, he just couldn't. It wasn't even that he was looking at him because he wanted him, which Josh did on a desperate level as the hallucinations of his sisters kept cruelly reminding him, but more because he couldn't believe the other male was still there. 

Was the other male really so dedicated to him that he was willing to risk the hatred of all of the people he called friends in order to follow through with Josh's revenge plan? More importantly, was Josh selfish enough to let him go through with it? 

"Of course you are. You're just full of those selfish, one sided choices Joshie." Beth's voice was like nails on the chalkboard that was his brain and it left him visibly cringing. "If he goes through with this he'll have no one else but you to turn to."

Hannah laughed from her spot at the edge of the bed, her long hair flowing out in dark tendrils that reminded him of the girls from those Japanese horror films they had watched together two Halloweens ago. "That's what you want, isn't it Josh? To make him depend on you and only you. To keep him by your side regardless of the consequences it might have on him."

"No... I don't want that for him. I don't want that. I... I don't. SHUT UP!" 

What had started as soft mumbling turned into a hysterical cry as Josh suddenly bolted from the bed, hands clutching the dark curls of his hair and pulling at them as the sting of tears began to well in his eyes. Over and over he told the pair to shut up, ignoring whatever looks that Chris might be giving him as the hallucination grew more and more prominent and his sisters voices more and more accusatory. 

Sinking to the floor, he did his best to shield himself from Chris' gaze, but he knew that he couldn't hide himself. The hallucinations rarely were this intense and rarely did garner an actual response from him. Yet something about this one rang too close for comfort. It ate at him in a way that made him hate himself.

He didn't want to admit it but they were right. He wanted Chris to have only him because that would mean he would never leave him. If Chris ostracized himself from the others in their group then he would not go where Josh would not be able to follow. Josh would never lose him to another Ashley. To another Mike.

"Josh." Chris voice was gentle as he lowered himself on the floor with his friend, yet did not touch the other. He could not be sure what it was that Josh was seeing, and touching him now could be a mistake. The older man was clearly distressed, and the sight tore a quiet whine from his own lips.

He was Josh's friend.

He was supposed to be able to help.

Keep him safe.

It was a mindset he had lived with for years, only focusing on keeping the other as safe as possible. Nothing was supposed to harm Josh.

"Josh? Hey man, are you alright?" Chris asked again, snapping his fingers couple of times. "The floor's not a very good place to sleep on."

For the second time that day Joshua Washington lunged forward and pinned his best friend to the ground. Yet unlike the last time where everything that he was feeling was plain to see on his face, this time around Josh just stared blankly down at Chris, eyes glazed and glassy. The position was different as well, his hands not on Chris' wrists but his bare shoulders and while he had certainly been onto of the other male before now he was outright straddling him.

Hannah and Beth were laughing in the background. Cruel and unyielding in their torment. Without thinking he dug his short fingernails into the flesh of his friends shoulders just to make sure that Chris was real. It was starting to become hard to tell after all. 

"They're here Chris. I can see them laughing at me from the corner of my eyes." He said after a long moment, his fingers still tight where they held onto the younger man's flesh. "It's starting to become hard to tell what real and what isn't anymore."

Slowly, one by one, he peeled his fingers away from his best friends shoulders, trailing them softly over the flesh of Chris' neck, up along the side of his face and then back down again. It was impossible to tell what was going on in his mind, the blank stare more then a little unnerving even though his touch was gentle and tender. 

It was a lovers touch.

A part of him was screaming that he should stop. That there was no way he would ever be able to recover from this. No amount of bullshitting or stupid dick jokes would make up for the fact he was essentially sexually assaulting his best friend in a fit of medication withdrawal induced madness. Still, Chris' skin was so wonderfully soft under his fingertips and with Hannah and Beth urging him on in the background he was blissfully numb to the consequences.

A little bit of touching never hurt anyone.

Chris had frozen completely underneath Josh. Anxiety and uncertainty washed over him as he stared at the blank face of his friend, shoulders burning from the half crescent shaped wounds Josh had left on the skin. He could understand the need to make sure he was real, it was not the first time Josh would suddenly touch him or bump against him to do so.

But this touch was different.

It was nearly gentle, and something he thought he could enjoy if it wasn't for the expressionless look on the other's face. Frankly, it kind of terrified him.

"Josh.... Josh, you've got to stop." Chris finally got out, tongue heavy in his mouth as he swallowed. "You're going to regret this later." 

"I don't want to stop." Josh admitted after a long, hard moment where his hands had come to idly run over the blonde's collarbones with his fingertips. His shoulder shrugged a second later, as if responding to the something that the imaginary Hannah and Beth were saying. As if to further prove that point he continued on. "I could do anything I wanted... and he'd probably not stop me." 

Chris released a punched out noise as suddenly those lips pressed down against his Adam's apple, working on a mark on the pale skin. His throat was a sensitive spot, and despite how fucked up it was, he couldn't help the shudder that ran through his body, fingers reaching up to dig on Josh's shoulders.

Though whether he did it to push his friend away or pull him close, he wasn't sure.

"Josh, stop-- not like this." Chris choked out, even if his head tilted back a bit as if he's giving Josh more space to work on. His mind kept spinning, tiny noises escaping his lips as he tried to make sense of the situation. Yet his thoughts were starting to cloud over faster than he anticipated.

Chris reaction was everything Josh ever wanted yet not at the same time. Yes, his body was responding in a way that suggested he was enjoying it physically, the little gasps and moans, the way his neck arched as if to give him more room to explore. Even the hands on his shoulders hadn't done anything to push him away.

"He isn't pulling you closer either. And I'm pretty sure he's telling you to stop. Face it Josh, he doesn't want you. You're just his poor, horribly messed up best friend who is scared of breaking if he pushes you away." Hannah cooed in his ear, reminding him of all the things that had held him back from telling the other what he felt for him. 

If that was true, then why did Chris voice his protests the way he did? Not like this meant that under different circumstances this would be fine, right? It was enough to fill him with a surge of hope that brought a burst of unstable laughter to his lips.

"Shut up. Shut up. Didn't you hear him? Not like this, he said. Not like this but maybe another way. Another day." Pulling his lips away from Chris' neck, he grinned down at his best friend, emotion once more evident in his gaze, albeit wild, rampant and heavily unstable. Licking his lips, Josh's fingers moved to rub over the outer side of the techie's arms, before making their way up to trail his finger tips over the pale skin of Chris' chest. 

At that moment he had never felt so simultaneously horrible and wonderful. He was miserable but also filled with a giddiness that made it hard to keep from smiling. As if he had become so miserable that his mind had started sending out the physical responses for joy instead. It felt so obscenely wrong yet Josh didn't care.

The fingers of his left hand ran up once more, tangling in the blond locks of hair behind Chris' ear as he pulled the other up as he leant down. "Anyway you want me, you can have me."

The tight grip in his hair had Chris' wincing, yet his breath stuttered to a stop as he was pulled up to meet Josh's gaze, pulled close enough that they would be kissing if he shifted just a little. He swallowed again, trying to come up with words he could speak without breaking the brunette even further.

Not like this. No, Josh was not in his right mind, was not truly there. The Josh that kept touching him was not his friend, it was a shell of his friend, an emptiness left behind from guilt and madness. Josh wanted him to prove his visions that he'd do it. He could never take advantage of Josh this way.

"Josh, man, you've got to back off. This is not the right situation or time for this." Chris said voice quivering a bit, eyes just slightly wider than usually.

Hannah and Beth's cruel laughter echoed in his ears the moment that Chris finished speaking, the words hitting Josh like a bucket of cold water to the face. The world suddenly came back into focus, the realization of what he had just done, what he had been about to do and what he had just offered leaving him feeling... odd. The giddiness from before still lingered, yet there was a numbness added over it now that made it feel even more fake. It made him sick and incredibly tired, yet at the same time he knew that he would not be able to rest.

He had misunderstood. Chris hadn't been talking about wanting to have Josh at a later date when things were better. He was talking about wanting his first time to be with someone who he actually wanted to be with. 

Josh wanted to cry.

He couldn't so he laughed instead.

The laughter that bubbled from his lips was bright and cheerful, almost exactly as it had been before everything had went to shit. There was something off about it though. Barely noticeable but hidden in plain sight, like Waldo in a 'Where's Waldo' book. It wasn't even that the laughter was fake or lacking in mirth. For all intents and purposes it seemed genuine. 

If it weren't for the glimmer of complete and utter pain that occasionally flashed in Josh's green eyes it might as well have been.

"Holy shit man. Holy SHIT! You really need to learn to be more forceful if you don't want somebody all up in your business like that." Still laughing, Josh pulled himself off Chris and onto his feet. Grinning from ear to ear he watched the younger man's face, trying to judge his reaction. "What do you think? Am I a good enough actor to fool Sam into thinking it's a good idea to go back to the lodge?"

Chris pushed himself up carefully, watching Josh for a moment before breaking into another smile. What had he even been thinking about? Josh terrifying him? No, no no no. Josh was his friend, he trusted Josh. Josh would never hurt him, that's just silly. Josh was just playing a game like always.

They loved games.

"Well, you totally got me. I'm sure she'll walk right into our trap." Chris chuckled releasing a yawn. "Should we lay down then?"

"Are you okay man? I didn't mean to freak you out or anything. It was all just an act. Everything from the shirt and onwards was just me pulling your chain." The smile faded into a look of concern, followed quickly by a flash of guilt.

Beth rolled her eyes. "You're such an inconsistent actor Josh. There is no way he's going to believe that was all a big prank."

He hoped she was wrong. The last thing he needed was Chris knowing the full extent of what Josh would give to him if he only asked. The blond had proven to him by his reaction that while physically he could indeed react there would never be any emotion behind it. Chris loved him, but he was not in love with him and that made all the difference. 

At Chris' question he offered the other a small smile, nodding his head and quickly pulling away to his dresser, pulling out a pair of sweatpants and quickly switching them with the jeans he had been wearing. Tossing the worn garment into the hamper near the door to his bathroom, Josh let out a fake yawn, stretching his arms over his head and made his ways to his bed, quickly burying himself under the soft blankets, face turned away from Chris and towards his bathroom door. 

"Light duty is yours." He said, voice partially muffled by his blankets.

Chris shook his head amused, flicking the lights off before following Josh in the bed and curled on the right side like always. Another yawn forced his lips apart, the blond nuzzling the pillow sleepily. "I know you won't hurt me." He mumbled eyelids fluttering shut, his breath leaving in a content exhale.

It had been a whirlwind of emotions, that was sure. The evening had definitely not gone like he had thought it would, with the two of them playing video games until they would pass out. Instead he had seen the unstable side of Josh, and truthfully he was not so sure what was acting and what was reality anymore.

....Did it matter though?

And just because he felt Josh should know, Chris hesitated a moment before adding; "I'd choose you over Mike. Even over Ashley."

Clenching his eyes shut, Josh tried to drown out the chanted words in his head telling him that he didn't deserve the blonde's friendship. That there was nothing he had to offer to Chris that would ever hold any value other then money. Money that time and time again Chris had proven to have little to no interest in.

Shifting a bit, he debated turning over to look at his bed sharing partner, ultimately deciding to meet half-way and turn on his back so that he could see Chris in his peripheral vision but not actually look at him dead on. 

"Not sure what you mean by that, bro. Like, you'd choose me as your plus one for free concert tickets or something?" Not a complete lie. Chris didn't actually specify what he meant with his words and while Josh suspected a couple of things he really couldn't be certain.

"No." Chris shook his head tiredly, already well on his way to sleep. The blond pulled his legs up, curling on his side comfortably. The next words he spoke were nearly breathless, just quiet murmurs of what was on top of his mind right now.

"Well, that too. But like the whole who you like thing we talked about earlier." The whole situation before Josh had flipped the first time. When he had acted nearly possessive.

"...Would choose you. Always you."

Letting out a shaky laugh, Josh's heart hammered in his chest at the confession. Once more his mind was set into a fit of confusion, the words conflicting with previous ones in a way that had him questioning whether they were an auditory hallucination. It wouldn't be the first time that Chris showed up as a figment of his unbalanced mind. This was just a considerably nicer version of him.

"Not always. Eventually you'll fall in love and I'll just be a dark side splotch to your otherwise pristine little life. It's cool though. I appreciate the thought." The laughter was the same genuine sounding laughter as earlier, and perhaps because this time around he was being more honest. He did appreciate everything that Chris was willing to do for him. There was no denying that Chris loved deeply. It was just not the kind of love that Josh had for him.

Turning back to his original position, Josh finally allowed his own eyes to flutter closed, feeling far too weary for this conversation. He didn't want to think about Chris leaving him right now. It wasn't going to happen anytime soon after all, and even if it did, Josh always had his original plan for after all things were said and done.


	3. Chapter 3

A week had passed since that awkward night in Josh's room where he had revealed that he had been off his pills and planning a massive prank to get back at those who had taken his sister from him. Over the span of that week Josh had been alternating his time between going up to the mountain to prepare everything and trying to teach Chris how to act his part. Admittedly, it had been weird at first, continuing on with the whole Ashley scheme knowing that the blond did not have feelings for the girl anymore, but it had been too late to rethink that massive part of his plan.

Josh shoved his hands into his pockets in order to warm up his fingers as they stepped into the lodge, letting Chris close the door behind them. It was the first time someone else was there with him since the death of his sisters and it felt strangely unsettling yet peaceful at the same time.

Moving to settle himself down on the couch, he finally moved to check his phone, snorting when he noticed that there was a missed call from Dr. Hill. During the last session he had with the man he had told him that he was changing his mind about his prank, telling him that he had reached out to his best friend once more and had decided to go back solely to seek closure. Which was bullshit, but at least it got him off his back for a while.

He had begun having hallucinations featuring a twisted version of Dr. Hill. Unsettling things that were based around his previous sessions only warped and so much darker. At least he didn't have Hannah and Beth showing up every so often. He much preferred the unsettling visits from the doctor to the grief of having his sisters lifeless corpses speaking his greatest fears into his ears.

"Do you remember the plan Chris? The way through the mines that I showed you and the meanings of each of the markers?" 

One of the first things Josh had done when he had added Chris into his plan was make a map detailing all the entrances and exits to the mine. It had been a tedious job that had him actually spending two nights down there, but he was confident that he had a good portion of it mapped out, with very subtle markers set into place to keep them from getting lost. Chris had a picture of it on his phone, but Josh had stashed the actual copy into the overalls of the costume he and the blond would be wearing. 

The idea was to lead the group through the mines and to the Sanatorium, where they would all meet up for the grand finale. It would start off by separating Mike and Jessica from the rest of the group, getting them isolated in the guest cabin. An easy enough task given how Emily and Jessica had been at each other's throats since the blond had started dating Mike. Once they were away, he would start his plan to get himself out of the picture while simultaneously driving a wedge of doubt into Matt's mind over the stability of his new relationship with Emily. If all things went well, when Chris and Ashley get out of the shed where Josh was pretending to be dead the pair would separate and Josh would have just enough time to knock Matt out and drag him to the old electric chair that he had set up in the Sanatorium. 

It was an ingenious little device that only Emily would be able to get the jock out of and only then by admitting to the fact she had been cheating on him with Mike. It would be a harsh blow to both of them, as Emily was forced to admit her 4.0 did her no good against a device that technically was never set up to do anything in the first place. Josh just had to make sure that the actual power switch was turned off.

Sam would be stalked next, chasing her out of the lodge and ultimately knocking her out so that she could be there to help Ashley later on after Chris 'kills' himself with a blank, a carefully crafted bit of illusionary work using a one way glass that would have done Houdini proud. Josh had needed to adjust things a bit, but he was pretty pleased with the end result. All he needed to do in that regard was tape Chris's 'death' and then wash his clothing so it would be clean later. 

With Chris out of the picture the two could work in tandem. Josh would lead Emily to Matt in the Sanatorium while Chris went off to kidnap Jess. It wouldn't be hard, since no doubt Mike and she would have fallen asleep having their vigorous sexcipades. Mike would be too groggy to realize what was happening and Chris would carry Jess out without him being able to lift a finger to stop it. From there, a dicey elevator ride down into the mines for her and a shot gun chase after Mike that ends roughly along the path that the carefully laid out clues would have Sam and Ashley going down, ultimately leading to a regrouping at the Sanatorium between their friends. By then, Sam and Emily would have realized that there must be at least two people stalking them, and some carefully laid out clues would make it appear as if the figures were none other then his sisters reanimating some old miners and were after them for vengeance. 

A chase into the morgue would end with his sisters autopsy reports and Chris and Josh would reveal themselves to their so called friends after Sam, with the a clue that only she can find, connects the final dots to the puzzle. 

It was perfect.

Grinning from ear to ear, Josh slipped his bag off his shoulder and pulled out the expensive camera his sisters had purchased for him two years ago. "I'm thinking we should get to taping your death. We're going to need you back into those cloths later so the sooner we get this taken care of the better and them washed the better."

"Where shall we film then?" Chris asked rummaging through the large supply bag, pulling out the gun he would use. It was a simple HK P9 pistol, and the bullet they would use was a blank. The bullet would be laid in a small box with several real bullets, and the point of his 'dare' was to load the gun and then shoot either himself or Ashley. Obviously he'd load the gun with the blank, they had marked it carefully so he would not mess up and kill himself for real.

"Downstairs. I've already got the rooms all set up so all we need to do is sit you down in the room Ashley is in, have you use your left hand to shoot yourself, flip the footage and we're golden. I'll toss you a couple of lines that you can respond to and I can edit the footage while you decorate the place with clues." 

Everything was coming together wonderfully. Aside from setting up the lodge everything would soon be completed for their award winning torture prank and Josh was practically salivating in his wicked glee. Sure, he knew that by the end of the day he would probably be down six of his seven friends, but the fact that he had Chris was more then enough to keep Josh contented.

The twins seemed to think so as well.

"Look how happy he is, getting to spend time with Chris at the lodge just like the old days." Hannah cooed as she stepped out from her place in the corner of his eye. 

"Except we were alive back then to keep them out of trouble. There is nobody here now to make sure that you don't end up buried alive in an avalanche" Beth added as she moved to wrap her arms around Josh in some wicked mockery of a hug that his skin crawling. When she leaned in to whisper in his ear again he shook his head, desperate to be rid of whatever she was going to say.

Not like he didn't already know. Chris was the only thing keeping him with any hope for the future after all. If he hadn't wormed his way into his little plot to stand beside Josh in the end, well...

The original plan only had seven people going down the mountain.

Snapping out of his thoughts as he came to a stop before the door that lead into one of the two rooms for the gun and saw prank, he offered Chris a wink. "Are you ready to see one of my many masterpieces for this evening?"

"Well you've been talking about them for days so yeah, I'm curious to see what you've come up with." Chris replied smiling at Josh, feeling much like a kid on Christmas morning despite the fact that they were talking about potentially dangerous traps. Ones that would surely scar their friends for life.

But it only served them right, the voice in his head pointed out and Chris knew it was right. After what they had done to Hannah and Beth, they did deserve to be scarred like this. 

To never forget why this happened to them.

And for a very brief second Josh had the urge to lean in and press a kiss to Chris' lips. The smile he was being given was adorable and the other man's eagerness filled him with a burst of affection. Chris was excited to see Josh's projects. It was a powerful boost to his ego that left him feeling giddy inside. 

Of course he didn't. He couldn't. Not after that night a week ago where Josh realized that Chris' love for him would only ever be that of a protective brother.

Realizing that he had been blankly staring at the younger man for a good twenty seconds he snapped his gaze away and back towards the door, mumbling a soft apology for spacing out before opening it. Stepping inside he immediately found his smile returning at the sight of his incredible craftsmanship. 

The room was something right out of a Saw movie. There was a simple wooden table and chair in the center left side of the room, above which there lie a rather violent looking contraption with a saw blade. When everything began the saw would lower towards Ashley and 'Chris' as if it was going to cut through their heads and Chris, sitting in the room next door, would shoot himself with the blank. Opposite the table was a special bit of glass that Josh had borrowed from one of his parents old sets. It worked in a way sort of like a green screen crossed with a one way mirror. Chris would be able to see into Ashley's room while Ashley would see into Chris. The only difference is that Chris would be set up so that the mirror was showing Josh's modified footage of him combined with his real time actions. Much like a CGI movie. However, in order for Josh to accurately place the special effects that he had designed he needed footage of Chris actually shooting himself with the blank and getting 'killed'.

In hindsight, it might have been easier to just make it a completely on video, but the problem was that the bullet they had chosen was very clearly marked. Even Ashley would have been able to notice the fact it was a different color then the rest of the bullets. Additionally, the audio of the bullet being shot would most likely sound off without special equipment, so actually having Chris shoot the bullet was needed to make it believable. 

"Alright. Let's set you up in my little 'death trap' shall we?" Gesturing to the chair, Josh offered his best friend a confident grin. "The saw stops a good foot above your head, so there really isn't anything to worry about unless you decide to be stupid and load the gun with a real bullet."

Chris tilted his head back immediately, staring up at the sharp blade above him and swallowed. One mistake could lead into that thing dropping on his head for real. His heart was hammering, anticipation and adrenaline running through him as he positioned the box of bullets and the gun on the table before him before looking over at Josh with a small grin.

"Come on then director, direct me."

"Hold on a second okay? I need to set this up and then head into the control room. The last thing I need is my head getting cut in two." Placing the camera down in a spot right before the mirror, Josh adjusted it so it would take in the scene before him. The way it was positioned had it level with Chris' face, just high enough to get everything in the shot but low enough to not get knocked over. 

With a wink he flashed his best friend a thumbs up sign, flipping on the recording and slipping out of the room, closing the door behind him. He moved quickly down to his control room, slipping inside without bothering to close the doors and turning on the video feed for the room Chris was in, then the audio. "Hey! Can you hear me alright? I'm in the control room now. Once I know you're set I'm going to turn on the saws. We'll take a couple of alternate scenes based on what Ashley might react with and then do the bullet shot. Just giving you a warning that I don't want you getting up at all until I say it's alright. Just because the saws look off doesn't necessarily mean they are." 

There was no denying the fact he was scared. Even with the safety precautions he was still putting Chris in a very dangerous situation. If the blond made one wrong move or if Josh miscalculated anything then his best friend might turn into his late best friend and frankly Josh would never be able to live with himself if that was the case.

Out in the other room Chris released a slow breath, allowing the voice of his friend calm him down. It sounded a bit disoriented coming from the speakers like that, and he knew that by the time they did this for real, that voice would be completely different. 

Yet when he had given Josh the nod of confirmation, he couldn't help but flinch at the sound of the blades whirring into motion. Wide eyes stared up at the saw in what seemed to be fear, and he forced himself to swallow and count to ten in his head.

Josh would not let anything happen to him.

Josh would keep him safe.

He could trust Josh.

By the time he reached ten, Chris was a lot calmer, opening his eyes again as he stared right at the camera. "I'm ready, give me my lines."

Josh's voice refused to respond even when Chris told him he was ready, his shaky breathing clearly heard through the speakers. Without thinking he turned the saws off once more, falling back into his chair and shaking his head.

He needed to do this. He needed this footage in order to make things believable. Yet for some reason his hands still kept shaking and his stomach felt ill. "H-hold on a minute okay? I... I need to gather my head." He said into the microphone before closing his eyes and taking a couple of deep breaths. 

"You were planning to put him into the same trap before Josh. What is the problem?" Beth said in a tone that suggested she was more agitated then cruelly teasing. As of late her tone in regards to Chris had become a bit more lenient. Strange, as Hannah had only gotten less merciful about him as time went on.

She was right though. There shouldn't be a problem. There couldn't be a problem if things were to work. Taking a deep breath once more, he steeled himself and pressed the button to bring the saws back up. 

"Alright sorry about that. Guess you have bigger balls then I do when it comes to this kind of thing." He said into the microphone with a weak laugh. "I'm going to turn the saws back on and you're going to pretend that I'm Ashley freaking out on the other side of the glass. We're just going to be taping your reactions here so don't bother with the gun. You heard the stuff I told you I would say so just imagine that happening along with what I'm doing and act things out naturally." 

Turning towards the button that set the saws loose again, he took a breath. "Three. Two. One. Action!" The saws once more whirled into life, but this time Josh actually played his part. In order to keep the other from laughing he kept his voice normal, simply playing out the panicked girl who was terrified for her life. 

***

About two hours of playing out several different potential scenarios later and Josh was satisfied with the footage and Chris was now covered in very convincing fake blood and gore. "Alright. Everything's turn off. Wait until I get there before moving though." Slipping from his chair, Josh let out a small yawn, stretching out his sore muscles before heading off to where Chris sat waiting for him.

Opening the door, he flashed the blond what he hoped was an award winning grin. "Looking good there, Tex. I like what you did with your hair." Slipping over to where the camera was settled, he turned it off and made his way over to the table, leaning against it with a small grin. Without thinking his fingers went to pull away the specially designed wax bullet hole that formed upon shooting the gun's fake bullet. "Am I a wizard or what?"

"It's sticky." Chris complained rubbing the fake blood from his temple, lips curled in a teasing smile. His fingers were shaking from the left over adrenaline, eyes bright with a twisted kind of joy. Pretending to shoot himself, pretending to argue with Ashley... it had felt good. Surprisingly so. The risk of shooting himself for real had been there, and each time he had pulled the trigger the blond had kind of deflated, heart hammering in his chest.

"I feel fucking awesome, man." Chris admitted laughing nearly giddily, brushing the bloodied fingers against his lower lip, making a face at the sweet taste.

But the way Chris acted had Josh hesitating, green eyes taking in the sight before him. Something was incredibly off about the way Chris was behaving. He was far too excited about what they were doing for it to be considered normal, especially given how sadistic Josh's plan actually was. His eyes were sparkling with a glint that Josh had seen in his own eyes on occasion and it left him feeling conflicted. Was this the road he wanted to be taking his friend down? 

"Yes, yes it is. You want him just as mad as you are. Because then he will have only you to turn to." Hannah said sharply in his ear, her pale, daunt fingers tapping the edge of the table. "Don't try to deny it Josh. You wouldn't have let him hold that gun against his head otherwise. You could have modified the plan."

Letting out a hiss, Josh mumbled a sharp but soft 'shut up' to his sibling before snapping his eyes back towards Chris, having unknowingly been watching his sister's hand. His hand shook as he reached out to grab Chris' wrist, shaking his head and giving him a strange look. "Don't eat that..." There was no explanation, instead Josh's voice just kind of drifted off, eyes watching something in the corner of his eye that made him grow pale.

It was Chris. Another one. This one bearing a dark smirk and a wild crazy expression on his face as he sauntered over to stand behind the actual Chris. "You're ruining my fun Josh. Can't you just let me enjoy this? It is OUR plan now after all." Swallowing thickly Josh pointedly looked away from hallucination Chris. 

He hated hallucination Chris the most because while Hannah and Beth were clearly fake, hallucination Chris bore far more similarities to real Chris than he cared to admit. Especially during moments like this when he was watching the blond sink deeper into the pit that Josh had dug for them both. Josh was ruining his best friend. He was twisting Chris into something he wasn't because of his own desperate need to keep the blond beside him.

His grip on the younger man's wrist tightened. "Don't..." He repeated softly, before releasing Chris completely and taking his leave with the camera. Maybe a bit of time away from the blond would allow him to cool his head and let the blond cool his own.

***

Losing himself in his work came easily for Josh. When he didn't have to worry about the world around him he could spend hours on his little projects, putting his all into creating some macabre masterpiece. The footage was easy enough to edit, taking him one or two hours to add a couple of touches and then another two in order to fit the scenes into several different paths that Josh could shift to based on Ashley's responses. Still, by the time he was finished it was roughly noon, and there was still a lot of stuff they need to get done and discuss before the group arrived.

While the hallucinations had been silent during his working, they returned full force now that he no longer had a distraction, voices tickling his ears and slowly glazing his eyes as he made his way upstairs. The voiced only seemed to grow in volume as he entered the room where Chris was currently relaxing, hair still damp from the shower and clad in a set of clothing that Josh had loaned him. Somewhere in the distance he could hear the sound of the dryer, no doubt filled with Chris' clothing.

"Go on. You know you want to lick that water trail from his neck." Hannah urged, her blue lips twisted into a dark smile as she gently touched her hands to Josh's shoulders, pushing him forward. To an outsider it would seem like Josh was stumbling over his own feet as he moved in closer, legs bumping Chris' as he loomed over the blond, expression unreadable.

Without thinking, his body moved to gently slide into Chris lap, lips curling into an unsteady smile as he let out a strange, distant laugh. "You should... wear my cloths more often. Looks good on you." He mumbled, running his hands over the fabric, head tilted slightly as he just looked at his friend, observing him in a way that made the fact he was settled in Chris' lap all the more awkward.

"Then I suppose I just need to take clothes from your closet." Chris replied smiling a bit, arms wrapping around Josh's waist. The blond swallowed, watching the other carefully; he could not be sure in what mood Josh was right now.

Though unlike the time last week, now Chris did not feel cornered or concerned. No, he felt content and curious, head tilted to the side slightly.

There was a long, pregnant pause as Josh seemed to fall silent once more, fingers running over the fabric of the shirt he had lent Chris. The garment was a simple red and black plaid button up, the pattern a bit more complex and the fabric a bit thicker then the shirt he himself was wearing but otherwise fairly similar in nature. The blond was always covered in a million different layers so it was odd to seem him in just a single garment. Doubly so knowing that it was Josh's own shirt.

Josh liked Chris in his clothing. It made him seem more... Josh's. Like a lover who had slept in too late and didn't have time to go back home before school or work started so they just tossed on something from their partner. Except Chris wasn't his lover.

"I could be. All you would need to do is twist your hips the right way and I'll get swept away." Hallucination Chris whispered into his ear, causing Josh to bite his cheek in a desperate attempt to keep him away. He could feel his arms around him, holding him close to the blond.

No. That was the real Chris' arms. 

Letting out a breathy sigh, his head fell to rest on the crook of his best friends neck, closing his eyes as he tried in vain to figure out which touch was real and which was. It was beginning to get hard to tell anymore. The hallucinations were getting worse and coming far more frequently. Pretty soon he wouldn't be able to keep up the appearance of everything being fine. 

Neither would Chris.

"I think I'm starting to rub off on you." Was the soft reply as Josh slipped away, out of Chris' hold and off his lap. "Are you sure you can do this? You were looking like you were on the verge of popping a stiff one back in the trap room."

"I've never done anything like this before." Chris pointed out, releasing his hold of the brunette as the other shifted to stand up again. Strangely, he missed the warmth immediately. 

True, he might have lost it a bit in the other room, but the whole surrealist of the situation had caught up with him, messing up his thoughts completely.

"It's like a twisted sort of game, and yeah, I kind of like what we're doing. But it'll hopefully give Hannah and Beth at least a sense of peace too." He added softer, rubbing the back of his neck before focusing his gaze back on the older boy.

"Hannah and Beth are dead Chris. The only ones who will be getting peace out of this is us." Josh snapped sharply. It was no doubt to hear those words coming from the brunette's mouth, as up until that point he had spent a majority of the time telling both himself and Chris that this was for the girls. Yet standing there now while four pairs of eyes stared at him with various degrees of judgment in their gazes, he could already feel his ability to convince himself of his previous words growing slimmer. 

"That's right, Josh. You aren't doing this for us. You never did anything to help us." Hannah snapped sharply, Beth glaring at him from beside her as the two circled around him, their eyes like hawks, ready to tear him apart the moment he left the safety of his mouse hole. 

"You wanted revenge because you thought it would help YOU cope with your failure as an older brother. You wanted to place the blame on the others because then you wouldn't have to accept the fact that you did nothing. You got drunk instead of looking out for us and now we're dead. You could have stopped Mike and the others. You could have run after Hannah faster then I could. You could have pulled us up. But no, you were too busy getting drunk with your crush." Beth said in an equally sharp tone. On instinct Josh moved to clutch his head, closing his eyes and trying to drown out their voices. 

The problem was you can't drown out the voices in your own head. 

Imaginary Chris pulled up next to him, fingers digging into the flesh of his wrist hard enough to bring a bruise while in the real world it was Josh's own fingers doing the damage. "Then you dragged me along with you. Telling me pretty lies about helping your sisters find peace while all you were doing was messing with my head for your own selfish needs." 

A whimper escaped his lips, fingers growing tighter still as his nails dug into the sensitive skin. It wasn't true. It wasn't his fault. It was the others. The ones who had chased his sisters from the lodge and out into the storm. The ones who didn't go after them even though they could have. 

"It was their fault. It was. It wasn't mine. It wasn't mine." Snapping his head towards Chris he gave the other man a desperate, pleading look as he all but ran to him, fingers clenching the front of the shirt he had lent him. "R-right?! It was their fault! They did it! R-right?! RIGHT?!"

Chris' eyes were slightly widened at the sight before him, more so when Josh suddenly lunged at him and clung on him like a lifeline. The blond's arms went instinctively around Josh, and for a moment he was at loss of words. He did not want to say the wrong thing and cause for Josh to drop even lower than he now was. 

His fingers rubbed Josh's back gently before moving to cup his chin, his touch tender and careful. "Yes, Josh. They did it." He agreed softly, forcing the other to meet his gaze. "They did something behind our backs, something we could not have seen coming. It was supposed to be fun, being up here. They were the ones who decided pranking Hannah was a good idea. They gave her grief, and had her fleeing out in the night. We couldn't have known it."

Sitting there, looming over his friend, it was hard to tell just what Josh was going to do. 

The answer was laugh, apparently. 

It was the kind of horrible, crazy laugh that you expected to hear from a madman on television. The kind that one would think nobody could ever produce naturally. Yet here Josh was, laughing as if he intended to go out there and stab the faces off of their 'friends'. "Y-you're right! They did it! It wasn't OUR fault that they went behind our backs to hurt Hannah!"

Leaning forward, his face was once more hovering mere inches in front of Chris. "We'll get them back. Me and you. Everyone but Sammy. She tried to help. Tried to stop it. Tried to help Hannah. Everyone else is nothing but a bunch of assturds." He rambled, grinning as once more every doubt was pushed from his mind. "Then it'll just be us. But that's okay. You're all I need. And... and... maybe one day you'll realize I'm all you need. Maybe. It's fine. I can watch." It was impossible to know what he meant by that last sentence, but it was clear that his mind wasn't all there at the moment.

"What are we going to do when this is over though?" Chris asked tilting his head back a bit, closing his eyes briefly. The others would most likely never want to hear of them again after the day, which suited him more than fine.

"I mean I'm just wondering.... do we remain together or..?"

Josh's face went pale at the mere idea of separating from Chris. The grin that had been on his face vanished in a mere instant as a deep, dark numbness began to fill him. Looking up he came face to face with Beth, her gaze sharp and more then a little wicked as she stared down at them both. She didn't need to say anything for Josh to know exactly what she was 'thinking'.

Chris was all he had. Without him there was no one to keep Josh from following his sisters headfirst down that cliff. Letting out a retched cry at that thought he buried his face in the blond man's chest.

"No. Please don't go. I can't live alone. I can't go back to those long empty hallways and lifeless rooms. I can't. Please. I need you."

He felt ill. What he was asking of Chris was wrong. Horribly, selfishly wrong. The blond had his own life to live. Josh couldn't expect to hold onto him forever. It wasn't good for Chris.

Forcibly pulling back, his eyes were glazed and lifeless as they looked down at the younger man. His rambling cries ceased into a long drawn out silence as he looked at the blond, taking in his kind, sweet face that was always so filled with concern for Josh. Gently, he pried one of his own hands from the other man's clothing, moving it to rest upon the blonds face as he looked down at him with a dawning realization. The tears spilled down his cheek in large, ugly cries, his breathing labored and uneven.

In unison with the three in his mind, he spoke out a line that heralded in a wave of cold, icy numbness.

"But sometimes when you love someone, for their sake, you have to let them go."

"I don't want to be let go." Chris replied as soon as he found his voice. "Don't choose for me whether I should be let go or not. You're all I have left, Josh. The only person I've remained beside for the whole year. I don't intend to leave anytime soon."

The urge to keep Josh safe only increased, the determination of having him happy becoming once again his main priority. If it meant staying by Josh's side as his lover, then so be it. 

"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it stop it stop it!" Letting out a sharp, anguished noise at the younger man's words Josh shook his head at the mere idea that this was the life that Chris wanted. He had been so stupid to allow him to get involved in this. He never should have let him know about the plan. "Don't you get it? I'm not well Chris. I'm broken. I've always been broken and no matter what anyone has tried I'm not fixable."

Slumping over, he pressed his face into the other man's neck, inhaling his scent deeply but barely able to get anything at all through his now clogged nose. "I'm going to drag you down with me Chris. I'm doing it already. I know it. I can SEE it. You appear in the corner of my eyes just like they do now. Telling me about how much I'm ruining you." A second hand joined the first, cupping both of the blonde's cheeks as he pulled up from his neck to stare down at him. 

Joshua Washington was losing it. He had always thought he would go out in a blaze of sass, emotionally numb and pushing those he cared about away with harsh words and a threats, playing at their insecurities just as they had played with Hannah. Yet this was as far a cry from his ideal breakdown as possible. His emotions were everywhere and all of then laced with a surging, overwhelming numbness that made everything seem pointless. Slowly, his breathing evened out, and in a shockingly soft tone he continued on.

"Go back down the mountain Chris. Pretend everything we discussed, all we did, never happened. Forget about my plan. Forget about Hannah and Beth. Forget about me. Let me... let me do you this one thing. Let me be a good friend and save you." He pleaded as tears streamed down his cheeks, only to let out a cry at the sight of Hannah and Beth looming over them both, eyes filled with rage at his words.

"How could you tell him to forget us Josh?! Is that what you want to do?! Forget us?!" The two all but screeched, causing him to clamp his hands over his ears. His heart was pounding in his chest and his eyes clasped themselves shut as he pleaded with them.

"No! No! I can't! I won't forget you! I promise! Just him! He can't be a part of this! I don't want it to end for him! Please stop! You aren't real! You aren't REAL!" Pushing himself away from Chris, Josh fell with a hard thud to the floor, immediately curling up into a ball as his sisters continued to scream in his mind. His breathing had become labored and uneven, his lungs not filling properly and causing him to gasp desperately. "I don't want him to come with me! I don't want to take him too! I don't want him to join you too! Just me! You said it would be okay if it was just me!"

"...If you go, 'm going with you." Chris said quietly, blinking slowly before he rose up from the couch, fingers clenching on tight fists by his sides. "I won't let you." He added a bit louder, hoping his voice would pierce through the veil around his friend's head.

"What do you think will happen to me once you're gone? I'll live happily ever after? As if. Open your eyes, Josh!" Chris snapped, his voice breaking. "I remained by your side for a year, I fought beside you hoping to get a smile in return, I was there long before this whole plan happened. If you're gone, you're taking me with you, whether you intend to do so or not. But I am not continuing my life without you."

A hand shot out to grasp at Chris' pant leg, holding it firmly in Josh's fingers as he opened his eye to look up at the man towering over him. The situation wasn't the same anymore. Chris was a part of it and Josh was no longer alone, no matter how much he pushed the blond away. The original plan of following his sisters was no longer an option.

Between deep gasps of breath he finally opened his mouth, eyes red and cheeks damp from all the tears he had been crying. "You... manipulative asshole. You're an absolute ass face ass. A stupid, oblivious idiot. I didn't ask you to look after me. I didn't ask you for any of that. You just did it all on your own like some adorable, bright eyed lapdog."

Once more a wave of miserable giddiness washed over him, his lips curling into a smile as he let out a broken laugh, only to cough due to all the mucus and unpleasantness that had built up in his throat and nose. "Chris you are the most selfish prick I've ever met. Using your own damn life as leverage to keep me alive. You know I can't take you with me. You know I don't have the balls to do something to you that couldn't be fixed."

Uncurling himself and letting out another broken laugh, Josh could feel more tears spilling down his cheek, though he didn't know what they were coming from. For all intents and purposes his emotions had reached absolutely chaos. Laying there with his arms spread out and legs apart, staring up at the ceiling, he could only just laugh at the sheer horror that was his mind. "What the fuck do you want from me, Chris? What do you expect me to be able to give you now? You've got all of me already but I can't tell whether you want them or not."

Tilting his head so that he was looking up at Chris and not the ceiling, his lips cracked into a massive grin. "I love you. I've loved you forever. My head is messed up and I have no idea what the hell my emotions are doing, but I know what love is and that when it comes to you its been one of the few happy emotions I've had for a long time. You want me to live? Fine. I'll live for you. Just know that I'm going to be putting it all on you from now on and I offered you an out."

"Selfish I may be, but try to see it from my point of view." Chris finally responded crouching down on the floor beside Josh. "Would you not feel like I do, if I were the one who felt so exhausted that I felt like the only way to feel any relief would be to end it all?" He smiled a bit. "Last week you told me to come to you if I ever needed someone or anything, that you'd help me, give me what I needed or wanted. Now I'm saying the same to you."

"You don't suffer from a depression that has been unmanageable by medication and has been with you since you were a little kid. You also haven't lost two of the four people in your support circle in an abrupt and emotionally crippling way that leaves you up all night thinking it should have been you and not them in that casket. You don't see them and hear them like I do now and frankly Chris you never will. It's more then just exhaustion Chris, so much more then that. Don't act like you understand what I'm going through when you don't." Tilting his head away from Chris, he bit his lip, feeling anxiousness well in his stomach. 

"It isn't even the first time you know. I tried to overdose before but apparently medication nowadays tends to be made where doing so is a lot harder then you would think. Makes sense actually, in hindsight. You can't just give a person with severe depression access to a substance they could abuse to end their life." A wave of numbness hit him once more as he let out a bitter laugh. "The irony is that it happened even before Hannah and Beth died. My parents and I hid it from them you know. It wasn't until the October before they died that they were first allowed to come visit me during one of my little hospitalization trips. It was better if they thought I was off at some film camp. Better for everyone to think that."

A bubbling in his mind told him that one of his hallucinations was desperately trying to break back to the surface, yet Josh managed to push it down, too emotionally exhausted to be able to handle it. Not that he couldn't hear what it wanted to say. He could hear it plain as day in his mind. Just in his own voice and not that of his sisters or Chris.

"You really need to be more aware of what you are volunteering yourself for. I offered that because I'm in love with you and I don't care if you use my body as a means to get off your frustrations if that means you are willing to stay beside me, you dumbass. I know that the feelings you have for me are different then those I have for you. You love me but you aren't in love with me, Chris, and while I know your intentions are good they kind of fall flat on their ass when the one thing I truly, desperately want is something that you cannot give me without forcing yourself."

"Don't. Just.... don't. Don't offer yourself to me like it means nothing, like you're nothing else but a broken toy. To me you're a person, Josh. You're someone important to me." Chris spat out, anxiety tightening his chest until it was bordering on the line of painful.

Trembling slightly, the blond pushed himself up from the floor and took in a shuddering breath. He would not leave Josh's side despite the new information nor the biting words. But he did need time to collect himself. He needed time to figure out what he wanted, what he needed.

"I'm going to check the dryer." He choked out, not waiting for a response before he forced his legs to carry him out of the room and towards the bathroom instead.


	4. Chapter 4

Josh went about the task of setting things up with a sense of calm detachment from the world. After making a brief stop to wash his face and collect himself in one of the upstairs bathrooms, he allowed himself to take a couple of soothing breaths and moved on to his task. He had planned out the locations of each item very carefully, leaving some in obvious locations that anyone could find while others were stashed away in places where only certain individuals might find them. Chris knew the locations of the harder to find items and would subtly draw those meant to find them towards those areas, both as himself and as the second 'killer'. 

When he returned to the living area, bag carefully stored away in his own room in a way that made it seem like it had merely been forgotten in the closet, there was a new sense of purpose in his step. He wasn't excited but he definitely could feel a rush of adrenaline as he adjusted his beanie and looked towards Chris. 

"We need to start heading out. I want you to put whatever happened before on the backburner and just center on what we're doing now. Everything else doesn't matter at this moment." The words came out with a sense of determination, as if he was giving a pep talk to group of high school footballers instead of telling his best friend to forget about the massive breakdown he had only an hour before. 

"I'll stay up here and greet the others as they come up. Remember, you want to go up with Sam, as she said she would be running late. If it looks like she's moving too fast distract her with the shooting range or something." He seemed to hesitate for a moment, chewing at his lip before turning his gaze towards the blond. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just smirked. "Try not to bawl too hard when you see me cut in two, alright?"

"Try not to regret watching me shoot myself." Chris replied before grabbing his bag and made his way out of the door.

 

***

Meeting with Sam was easy. He had left his bag on the bench by the station and walked around to find something he could use to stall them and returned to find Sam closing the bag he had forgot open. Thankfully she didn't seem to have been snooping around. Their greeting was warm and happy, and Chris felt himself relax with every passing minute.

Especially when he could take his frustration out at the shooting range before the cable car arrived and they had to climb to the lodge.

And for some reason he was not sure about, he ended up telling Sam the story of how they met with Josh. The memory brought a smile on his lips, one that did not go missed by the blond.

In a sharp contrast to Chris' own interactions with the arriving parties Josh's were draining and just a bit unnerving. Ashley and Mike had surprised him by being the first to arrive and it had been hard to keep his smile on his face as he greeted them. Hannah and Beth screamed for Mike's blood in his ears while hallucination Chris thought it would be a good idea to comment about all the cute little charms that Ashley had to her. Yet somehow he managed to keep it all hidden, greeting Ashley with a small hug before sending her up to the lodge. 

Mike and he stood there awkwardly for a good minute after that, neither sure what to say to the other. It was clear that the paler skinned brunette had some hunch that Josh blamed him in particular for what had happened to his sisters, yet somehow he had still been invited up there again. After a prolonged silence Josh finally offered the younger man a playful smack on the shoulder. 

"Come on man, don't make this awkward. You look like you're about to cry on me." He said in a soft, playful tone, hiding his hatred well. This seemed to put Mike at ease as he offered Josh a weak smile in response.

"Sorry. It's just... I kind of got the feeling that you didn't particularly care for me after last year. Never expected to be seeing you again, let alone get an invitation back here." Mike admitted honestly. 

"What you did was a dick move but it wasn't like you pushed them off that cliff, man. It's cool. We're cool. Like I told you in the message, this trip is to celebrate the good memories and not dwell on the bad ones. So lift up those shoulders and give me that Playgirl smile of yours." Grinning, he faked pleasure at the smile that donned Mike's face at his words, the younger man returning the shoulder punch from earlier.

"Okay man. Glad to know we're cool." Glancing towards the cable car as he noticed it starting to pull up, Mike seemed to consider sticking around and chatting a bit. Something Josh simply would not be able to tolerate.

"Hey man, I got an idea. Why don't you dump your stuff at the lodge and hide out near the old wooden bridge to give our next guest a good jump, eh?" Nudging Mike's shoulder he gestured towards the path, and the other man grinned in response. 

"Sounds good to me. I'll leave you to stall them then." With that Mike was off, bag in hand and a spring in his step. 

"...Fuck I hate that guy." The darker skinned brunette muttered, rubbing his arms over his chilled arms as he waited for the next group to arrive, which took about ten or so minutes.

Emily and Matt were next, Josh was pleased to note. While Emily certainly wasn't particularly palatable she at least was upfront in her bitchyness as opposed to Jessica who his it under a cute, fluffy exterior. The exchange between them was brief but pleasant enough, Matt giving him one of those high five turned mini-hug things that men like him were so prone to doing and Emily giving him a half-assed wave that seemed so typical of her. 

After a bit of chatting he sent them up like the other two when he noted that the cable car was beginning to move. The next person would be Jess arriving alone, no doubt intending to wait for Mike to come and get her. The blond had easily taken the spot Emily had left unfilled after the breakup several months before and while not everyone had been in the know, Josh had quickly figured out what had been going on when he had talked to Mike the month before through an email. It had been how Josh had managed to bring up the private guest cabin, as the younger man had been hoping to use the romantic location of the mountain in order to woo himself into his new ladies panties.

The same mountain where Josh's sister, a girl whose heart he had smashed to bits, had lost her life due to a prank he pulled.

Did Josh mention how much he hated that asshole?

True to form Jess was next and things went as well as expected. There was no real sign of remorse over the prank that she had thought up and subconsciously Josh thrilled over the fact he would be sending her naked into the dark and creepy mines in a couple of hours. The bitch deserved it for what she did to his sisters. 

As expected, she was insistent to wait for somebody to come meet her and while he had hesitated a bit he had ultimately agreed to let her stay there alone. Chris would be coming up with Sam next, so most of the greetings had been done and the last of the players in their little game were on the field. 

The closer they got to the lodge, the more nervous Chris became. When Sam confronted him about it, he lied about skipping breakfast because he was both excited and slightly weirded out to be back-- which was not exactly a lie. Still, it felt weird to see the lodge and be greeted by the sight of Josh standing there with others, wearing what Chris knew was a fake smile.

He had to force down every voice that kept screaming for him to comfort the other, instead greeting him with a small wave and a real smile. "Man, I feel like this mountain gets bigger every time I climb it."

Stepping in closer, Josh allowed his arms to fold over his chest as he offered the blond a small smile at his words. To the outside eye it would appear as if he was merely a bit bored or cold, but to Chris, and perhaps Sam, it was clearly a gesture that indicated he was trying to protect himself. The folding arms and his posture was too tight and rigid to be the casual gesture of impatience that most would associate with the action.

"Oh yeah? Feels the same to me." No it didn't. Not in the slightest. The mountain felt cold and desolate and so horribly empty without his sisters there with him. The chilly air that had once been warm with their laughter was now frigid in its silence. The paths that had once held three sets of footsteps now held only a lonely single pair. It felt wrong and Chris must have known it.

"Come on, you grew up here. It probably feels like it's shrinking." Chris commented with a shake of his head.

Shrugging his shoulders and nodding his head in agreement to the other's words, Josh's lips pressed into a small smile. The voice that came from his lips was far more tired sounding then he cared to admit. "I guess that's true." 

"When are you going to install some cell towers here? I'm getting withdrawals already."

"You got a spare million lying around and I'll fix you right up." Josh responded, shaking his head and finally uncrossing his arms. The real meaning hidden behind the words asking if Chris had any suggestions towards how to handle the dilemma they were facing. It was the closest Josh would come to admitting that things were out of his hand on this one and that they would simply have to do their best to meet up between running around. 

"Funny you should say that-- I think I left it in my other jacket." Chris replied lips quirking up just the tiniest of bits before he turned to look at the lodge.

Shaking his head again, the blond glanced at Sam who had already climbed up the stairs and was greeting Ashley and he felt his heart plummet. The things they were going to do to her.... it would fuck her up big time, prank or not.

Another thought reared its head, reminding him how Ashley had been a part of the prank a year ago, how she was just as much guilty for Josh's pain as everyone else. It helped him cope with what they were going to do.

"Shall we get this party started then?" Chris asked focusing back on Josh, nodding his head towards the lodge and the others.

"Lead the way, Cochise." Gesturing for Chris to take the lead, Josh followed after him, shoving his hands in his pockets as they came to join three of the six other members of their party. From the corner of his eye he could see Chris watching Sam and Ashley, a fact that filled him with a surge of jealousy and discontent. 

"He could be lying to you, Josh. Maybe he still likes her. Maybe he is only pretending to want to help you so that he can protect her from you." Hannah's voice whispered into his ear, though there was no visual hallucination to accompany the words. A rare blessing that Josh was greatly appreciative of. 

What bothered him was the fact that he didn't know if those words were unfounded fears or not. Chris seemed sincere in his disinterest towards Ashley, but Josh wouldn't be sure until they drew closer to the Saw Prank. If Chris stopped him from knocking her out, or if she knew about what was going to happen, then he would know that Chris was only playing along to protect the others. It was a thought that made Josh clench his fingers.

The tension in Matt was noticeable immediately and Josh couldn't help but feel a slightly pleased. The other man must have caught wind of something, possibly Emily and Mike rendezvousing while he was away. Perfect. It would only add further fuel to the fire and make things so much easier to separate them. 

For a second he humored the idea of asking what was wrong, but in the end opted out of it and instead overtook Chris' steps and beat him up the stairs to the door. Finger wrapped around the key to the door, pulling it out despite knowing that the door was not locked at all. Pressing a frown to his lips he allowed a confused, somewhat startled noise to spill into the air and the attention of the girls nearby. 

"...What the hell? Did someone break the lock or something?"

"Are you serious?" Chris asked shocked, moving up to take a look at the 'broken' lock as well. He could see Sam shift from the corner of his eyes as he backed down again with a shake of his head. "Some people, huh. I hope they haven't trashed anything up inside, if they got that far." He added frowning slightly.

It was easy to pretend to be agitated by the thought of someone breaking in to the place, especially when the thought truly bothered him. And not only him, it seemed. He could see both Sam and Ash share a look, and the knowledge pleased him greatly. The seed of doubt had been planted in their heads, and it would be easy to add more fuel to the fire with their 'clues'.

"Come on man, let's check it out." Chris said nudging Josh lightly before pushing the door open carefully, as if making sure that no one would jump them from the darkness. Of course the lodge remained in the same condition they had left it in before, but he still took a long look around before nodding at the others. "Get in here before you freeze out there."

"Could have just been the police. They weren't exactly gentle with the place when they were last up here. Then again... dad did mention some squatters hanging around the cable car station..." Allowing Chris to lead the way inside, Josh offered the girls a polite smile and a bow, hand extending inside. "After you ladies." He said with a playful grin, which Ashley and Sam responded to with smiles as they stepped inside, Matt hesitating at the door before Josh flashed him a wink. "You can be an honorary lady." The laugh that Matt gave was pleasant enough, though he still held a great deal of bitterness towards the guy who had taped the prank on his sister.

Pausing at the door to look out and see if anyone else was nearby, Josh shrugged his shoulders when he caught no sight of the others, figuring they would catch up soon enough. Either that or maybe in a beautiful bit of irony they too had fallen off a cliff and were freezing to death. 

If only the world would be so kind. 

Shutting the door behind him, he rubbed his hands together as he looked around the lodge, checking for things amiss but not finding anything. "Well... it doesn't look like they made off with anything in the main living area. It was probably just the police being a bunch of assholes again. Can't stand the idea of a bunch of colored people with money." The noise of agreement that came from Matt was actually surprisingly comforting, and Josh allowed himself to relax a little bit.

"It's so nice to be inside. Even if it's a tad chilly here too." Sam commented wrapping her arms around herself before setting her bag on the base of the stairs together with Ashley. The two girls started a quiet discussion about how weird it was to be back at the lodge, and Chris could detect sorrow in their voices that had him cringing slightly as he turned to look at Josh and Matt.

The darker skinned youth seemed to be really on the edge right now, a fact that was confirmed when Mike entered the lodge with Jess and Matt was immediately telling him to stay away from Emily while the older boy seemed slightly taken aback before responding in kind.

This was going a lot better than he had dared to hope. It would be easier to separate the others when they did not get along. The blond glanced at Josh briefly, but did not leave his place beside the girls. 

Emily returned shortly after Mike and Matt's little altercation and true to form immediately started to bitch over the snuggling Mike and Jessica. Even though Josh didn't know the full details over Emily and Mike's breakup he could still tell that the Asian woman had an attraction to the former class president and Jess had no shame in flaunting her newly caught boyfriend. Matt didn't help and in the end Josh finally took it upon himself to step in.

"STOP IT." Pulling away from the fireplace, the oldest of the group finally stepped into the fray, posture screaming his irritation over the fighting before slumping a little as he continued on. "This is not why we came up here. This is not...helping. It's not what I wanted." Moving in closer he looked out over the four faces, hands emphasizing his words. 

"If we can't get along for ten minutes then maybe we need a little bit of a break, right?" Pausing, he turned his full gaze towards Mike. "Mike - why don't you check out the guest cabin. The one I told you about."

Slipping from his seat, Mike easily agreed to the idea, leading Jessica away. Calling out to the pair Josh watched them leave. "It's right up the trail." As they left he returned to the fireplace, Matt commenting on how he was glad that the fighting was over and Josh giving a non-committed 'yeah' in response. 

Fate seemed to think splitting them up further was a good idea, as Emily shortly after realized that she had left one of her bags down the path. Good. It would keep them distracted until Josh needed them to take their own positions. Of course, he almost felt bad for Matt as Emily proved once again she was the empress of nasty bitches. Almost. Not quiet though.

Sam left to go take her bath just as Josh realized that he hadn't given Mike and Jess the key to the guest cabin. Slipping away from the fireplace without a thought or explanation, he grabbed the key the guest cabin and make his way outside to find Jess and Mike still waiting around. No doubt they too had realized they would need a key and after a very forced bit of joking that could even be considered flirtatious, Josh parted ways with the pair of people he hated most. 

Like hell he would ever pay to see either of those assholes naked. 

When he returned the sight that he was greeted with caught him off guard. Ashley was obviously flirting with Chris, her hands touching the younger man in ways that made her intentions shockingly clear. He was almost a bit pleased as the discomfort that seemed to lace Chris' posture and he took a moment to enjoy the fact Chris clearly wanted none of it. 

Eventually, he decided to spare his friend, slipping over to press himself between the two of them, throwing his arms around their shoulders as he grinned. "Hope you two didn't get lonely without me." Blocking Ashley off from Chris, he made eye contact with the young woman, his gaze briefly darkening as his hand moved to gently run up Chris' shoulder to brush against the blond' neck in a show of possessiveness that obviously startled her.

This time the shudder that ran through Chris' body was not one of discomfort but one of satisfaction. It was like he was pleased of the contact, like he had done something right and the touch was his reward. The thought while a bit startling, felt surprisingly pleasing and right as well. "You know I can't function without you around." Chris teased leaning in the touch ever so slightly, blue eyes meeting darkened green ones as he grinned.

Ashley watched Chris' reaction with a mixture of surprise and slight discomfort. It was clear that Josh had touched Chris' neck on purpose and the fact the younger of the two men didn't push it away made her wonder just what was going on with the two of them. It didn't help that Chris was far more responsive to Josh than he was to her. Gently pulling away, Ashley nodded her head in agreement watching Josh lean against Chris even more when she pulled away. "It is pretty chilly in here. Maybe you should light up the fire?"

Josh snorted, fingers brushing once more over the skin of his best friends neck as he lifted his hand up in a mock sign of surrender. "Alright! Alright! I get the picture!" Returning to his place by the fire, he looked it over before deciding perhaps it would be a good idea to call for some help. First instinct was Chris, but the blond still needed to play his part of the interested prospective boyfriend to Ashley, so instead he opted for his next best choice. 

"Sammy! You wanna help me get this fire going?" He called, grinning slightly as he listened to her call in response.

"Ummm- well. I was just getting into the bath..." While her voice may have been muted Josh still heard her loud and clear. 

Chancing a glance towards Chris, an idea surged in his mind that allowed the next lines to spill from his lips with what appeared to be a shocking amount of sincerity mixed into his teasing. "Oh! Well do you need any help with that?" 

"Hardy har." Sam responded before falling silent and leaving Josh to let out a small chuckle, his attention turning towards the other two in the room.

"Right. What interesting things do I have for you two to keep yourselves busy with..." Pondering, he could hear something from Sam upstairs that sounded like a mention of his name, but he ignored it as he pulled away from the fire and turned his gaze towards Chris and Ashley. It was then that he remembered the spirit board that was somewhere around the lodge and he offered them both a small smile.

"Alright, peanut gallery, you know what? I got and idea for you two." From upstairs he could hear Sam approaching but he didn't bother to see what she was doing up there. Instead grinning as Ashley pressed him with a slightly amused 'what?'. "Okay well I am pretty sure that somewhere in this crazy place we used to have... a spirit board."

"A what?" Ashley said in an almost condescending disbelief that made Josh want to smack her. The spirit board in question had belonged to Beth, who had purchased it off the internet five years ago. Apparently, it was supposed to be the real deal, but he and his sisters barely were able to stick with it long enough to actually have more then one question answered before someone freaked out. More often then not it being Josh.

"Come on man, everyone knows those aren't the real deal." Chris protested perhaps a tad sharper than was appropriate, but the way Josh had called up for Sam lingered in his mind, caused him to frown ever so slightly as he crossed his arms across his chest.

Who did Josh think he was, touching him one moment and flirting with someone else the next? He was not to be toyed with, and for a moment he entertained himself with the idea of flirting with Ashley. Then it hit him that it was exactly what he was supposed to be doing in the first place and the blond sighed quietly to himself before smiling playfully at the girl.

"Should we go look for the board then? I mean it's something to kill the time with. I promise not to let any of the icky spiders get you."

Speaking of which, the blond haired woman had just come to join them, just a hint of agitation in her tone. "Hey Josh. No hot water's kinda major oversight doncha think...?" 

A bit surprised, Josh blinked before offering her a weak smile. "Yeah, yeah, just gotta fire up the boiler. It's in the basement."

"Oh no way am I going down there. If I know you it's probably got some kind of stupid prank set up to scare me out of my skirt." Shaking her head at the idea of going down to the dusty and cobweb filled basement, Sam held up her hands. 

"Alright. Fine. You wait up here and keep yourself toasty by the fire while I go down the creepy basement and bring you your precious warm water." Rolling his eyes, the tanned young man turned away, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Hold on-- you can't start the boiler up by yourself. The last time you tried it, you ended up pulling a muscle trying to reach both consoles at the same time." Chris protested, gaze darting from Josh to Sam before he turned to give Ashley a tiny smile.

"Tell you what, you go search for the board with Sam while we'll go make sure we have hot water for the precious baths you so love." 

"Sounds like a plan. We'll meet you guys back here." Sam said, giving them both a wave as she led Ashley away, the younger woman casting one last disappointed glance at the two young men before she joined the blond, the two easily breaking out into conversation.

Josh was silent as he led the way to the basement, waiting until the door was closed to shove Chris' shoulder. "What the hell was that, man? I told you that you need to actually act like you're still interested in Ashley for things to work!" He hissed, staring at Chris through the darkness. Of course, Josh was just as guilty of putting a wedge between the two as Chris was, but at least his plan didn't ride on his relationship with Ashley.

"I can fix this with her later." Chris waved the concerns off with his hand, his tone a tad bored even at the mere thought of having to flirt with Ashley again. 

"I meant what I said and besides, if you go pulling a muscle now, the whole plan is at risk." He added quietly, giving the other a pointed look before walking down the stairs towards the boiler. "We'll do this like always and we're back upstairs in mere minutes."

The brunette was shockingly easily placated. What the blond said did make plenty of sense and it wasn't like Ashley and Chris wouldn't be given alone time after this. In fact, the two would be getting plenty of alone time with one another in the next couple of hours. More than Josh particularly cared to give them in fact.

"Alright, but no more tensing up when she touches you. If I hadn't come in she would have picked up on your disinterest for sure." Snatching the flashlight from Chris as he overtook him on the stairs, the brunette took the lead as they entered the basement, pointedly ignoring everything as they made their way to the boiler. 

"Alright, since apparently I'm incapable of lighting this thing without hurting myself why don't you do the honors." Flashing the light towards the boiler, Josh folded an arm over his chest in an impatient pose as he waited for Chris to get to work.

"How did you know about Jess and Mike?" Chris asked changing the subject as he crouched down before the boiler, starting to pull and twist the knobs. "I didn't know about them, but the way you planned their 'path' suggests that you knew." He continued, gritting his teeth together as he pulled on the rusty wheel to get it moving.

"Go press the button, will you?" The blond murmured wiping his hands on his jeans.

"I've been exchanging emails with Mike. I had to keep up some semblance of contact with everyone or it would seem odd that I invited them up here." He explained, watching Chris struggle with the rusted wheel before moving to press the button in question. "When Mike and Emily split I knew it had something to do with Jess so I prodded a bit and things spilled out. Apparently Mike cheated on Emily with Jess sometime during the year and Emily found out, hence the breakup. Jess stepped up and there you have it." 

Purposely locking his gaze onto Chris so that he wouldn't see the hands that were slowly clawing their way through the darkness towards them, he took a deep breath. "The drama between Emily, Jess and Mike are a big factor in the plan so I'm kind of appreciative that Mike is such a douchebag. Of course, Emily is no saint either. She had sex with Mike roughly around the time she and Matt started their thing, so I'm going to use it against her."

"You mean Mike's been playing both girls at the same time?" Chris asked in disbelief, pushing himself up from the floor. That was just fucking bullshit. First the whole thing with Hannah, and now this? The class president was tearing people apart, playing them like they were only mindless dolls and the girls were too stupid to know any better.

If he hated the other before, he was absolutely livid right now.

The boiler whirling into life signaled that it was time for them to get out of there and frankly it couldn't have come too soon for Josh. The hands were nearing their legs and he didn't want to stick around for them to finally reach them. "Let's get out of here."

"Do you think the girls found the board?" The blond asked tilting his head back slightly as he glanced at Josh, closing the basement door after them.

His question was answered by the sight of the girls standing in the living area, examining the board with curious expressions. Sam looked up at the two when they were joined, a pleased smile spreading on her lips. "I assume the hot water is working?" She asked, to which Chris responded with a nod of his own. "You're free to take your bath now."

Sam hummed, thanking the two before walking up the stairs into a bath that would no doubt last for couple of hours.

Saluting Sam as the young woman left he turned his gaze towards Ashley and offered her a grin. "Not so boring now that you're finally about to give it a try, huh?" He asked, gently teasing the young woman as she rolled her eyes and offered him a weak smile. Despite her earlier disbelief he could see that she was clearly a bit unsettled by the whole thing now and it just made Josh all the more excited. "Come on. I've got the perfect room in mind for this."

Leading the way through the house to a small little alcove of a room, he took a moment to grab a couple of candles and matches to further accentuate the creepy atmosphere, setting them up around the board, tossing the pamphlet over to Chris so that the blond could read over the instructions, a position that Josh had always given the blond ever since they were kids. Chris had a way with explaining things that made it far more amusing then what the standard pamphlet would give them.

True to his expectations, Chris read over the instructions nearly bored, taking a seat beside the table before clearing his throat. "So it says here, to communicate with the spirit world you must free your mind of all preconceptions, drop all inhibitions, and generally give yourself over entirely to the will of others, sublimating your every desire to the whims of the Spirit-master, which is me--"

The blond grinned a bit, spreading his arms slightly before giving the two other a teasing look. 

"It doesn't say that--" Ashley protested.

"--And everyone present will remove their garments at my sole discretion." Chris finished, unable to stop himself from chuckling.

"Chris, come on this is serious..."

"Oh, I'm deadly serious." Chris drawled out, lips curling in another grin as Ashley sighed and told them to just get on with it already. "Alright, since you're the newly converted, why don't you play our mentor here?" Chris said placing his finger on top of the pointer as Ashley seemed to fumble with her words.

After a while, the pointer moved and Josh's heart nearly jumped out of his chest. 

"Did you do that...?" Looking between the two other people in the room, the shock and fear was clearly evident in his voice. Why did it move? He hadn't moved it. He hadn't set it up so that the board would move either. 

"I didn't do anything!" Ashley responded almost immediately, and Josh's gaze turned towards Chris who seemed far too amused by this whole situation then Josh though he should be. Yet as they continued on and Chris began to grow more unsettled by it Josh found himself freaking out. 

Beth was communicating with them from beyond the grave. It was beyond wrong. It was beyond upsetting. And yet Josh stayed with it until the end, rising from the table in a burst of terror and anxiety as the board flew to the ground. Desperately, he tried to deny what had happened, shaking his head. "You know what? No, this is bullshit. This isn't real--"

"Josh-- I don't know what's going on..." Ashley started to say, only for Josh to continue on.

"Listen. I don't know... I don't know if you think messing with me is somehow going to help me deal with my grief or whatever but this is not cool."

"Josh no! You wanted to use the spirit board!" The girl said as Josh pulled away, terrified and upset, only growing further agitated when Chris jumped to Ashley's defense. 

"I don't need this right now, okay?!! You guys are full of it!" Beyond pissed and far beyond upset, the older man descended the stairs, desperate to get away from both of them. He needed to get away. Away from the spirit board. Away from Ashley. Away from Chris. The mere thought that the blond had been in on it made him bitter and angry. The other knew that the spirit board had only meant to be a means to get Ashley and Chris closer.

At least he could distract himself by getting ready for the prank. 

As Josh finally got out of earshot and sight, Ashley brought her mouth to her lips, unable to hide the small snickerer. 

The suffocated laughter told Chris enough. Anger flared within the blond at the thought that Ashley had pranked on Josh, had used something important to them both against the older boy. How dared she? How _dared_ she do something like this? The anger quickly turned into despise, the blond pushing himself away from the table.

"That was fucking sick, Ash. I can't believe you'd do something like this to him!" Sure, he would probably just cause himself and Ashley drift further apart from each other, but right now he could not care less.

Ashley had hurt Josh.

"Come on, we're going to find him and tell him the truth. Fucking unbelievable...." Chris shook his head, refusing to look at the other before stomping down the stairs.

Hopefully Josh would knock Ashley out, hard.


	5. Chapter 5

"Oh come on Chris! It wasn't as if Josh hasn't pulled a bullshit prank like that before!" The defensive tone in the girl's voice was a clear indication that she didn't feel nearly as much remorse over what she had done as she should have. Still, she followed after him as he made his way downstairs. 

Still, bringing up his sisters might have been a bit much, even if the man did deserve a harsh reality punch to the face. "...Yeah... no. You're right. I shouldn't have done that..." Sighing, Ashley followed after Chris, intent on finding the brunette only for her to catch notice of the telephone, which clearly had a message left on it. "...What the...? Who would call here?"

"I'm not sure." Chris replied frowning a bit, even if he knew perfectly well what the message would contain-- Josh had told him about it after all. How it would dig the seed of doubt and uncertainty deeper in Ashley's mind and her panic would spread into others as well.

Not to mention it'd give them the perfect alibi.

Pressing the button on the answering machine, Chris played back the message. "Hi Mrs. Washington - this is Sergeant Tait again. It's bad news, I'm afraid. We've been through the case files, and there's nothing we can do. He's a free man. We don't have the legal power to restrict his movement. I know it's not what you wanted to hear, so call me if you want to know more."

The girl swallowed thickly, her eyes wide as she listens to the message on the phone. "Oh god. Chris... you don't think that there is some... some criminal up on the mountains with us do you?" Fear filled her voice as she looked at the blond haired man, hand coming grab the sleeve of his coat. The fact that the message hadn't been touched was more then an indication that Josh had no idea about the danger that could be lurking. 

Then there was the broken lock on the door. Josh thought it must have been the police but what if it wasn't. "We need to find Josh. Right. Now." 

Moving through the hallway at a quickened pace, the girl stopped every now and then, noticing things that hadn't stood out to her before. A letter on a table with a note about a crazy man near the shed. Pictures of Hannah and Beth that hadn't been there before. Unsettling things that put her on edge as they searched the house for Josh.

The worst was the hidden room in the library. She had been kidding when she had freaked Josh out, but they had both humored the idea that maybe he had gone there anyway. What they found was a sign of a clear struggle and photo of Hannah and Beth with a very upsetting message on the back.

"No. No no no no! Chris oh my god... this... I was only kidding! I didn't know that... oh my god you don't think whoever wrote this has Josh do you?!"

"I don't know Ash, I don't know." Chris replied, his voice weaker than before. The thought by itself was unsettling, even if the blond knew it all to be an act. At least it was easy to convince Ashley that it all was real.

"We have to find him, before--" The blond's words got cut off by Josh's shout that came from the other room, behind the closed doors that would lead them to the kitchen. "Oh my god." He choked out, taking a step forward. 

It's an act, just and act.

Josh was alright, it was not real.

"Oh my god Ash, that's Josh!"

"Come on!" Taking off after the sound of Josh's struggle, the girl burst forth into a sprint towards the kitchen, opening the door and stepping inside.

In hindsight, it was probably a pretty stupid idea to go in unarmed. If Josh wasn't able to over come this nutjob then how could she? Yet the fear and adrenaline had spurned her forward and as she was pulled inside and the door slammed shut behind her she knew that she had made a grave mistake.

A scream wretched from her lips as she was struck by a powerful blow, her consciousness slipping as she crumbled to the floor with a thud.

There was a long moment as Josh stood there, making sure she was knocked out, Chris screaming on the other side of the door. When he was confident that she would not be waking up, the brunette turned to the door unlocking it and pulling the mask from his face to give Chris a dark grin. "Hook, line and sinker. She'll be out for at least a good hour or two at least. I'm going to go set her up in the Saw trap and then deal with Sammy. You play lookout and make sure Matt and Emily don't get back before we are ready for them. I'll meet you at the trap in about two hours." 

There was moment where Josh seemed to pause, his eyes cast down towards Ashley on the ground. "...you don't think that... Beth really was talking to her do you? I mean... the library stuff... there was no way Ashley could have known... right?"

"She was fucking with us, Josh." Chris replied truthfully, casting a surprisingly cold look at the unconscious woman laying on the floor. "The moment you left, she burst out laughing. She admitted in fucking with us. God I wanted to tear her head off myself." He muttered fingers clenching slightly, the blond relaxing with his next, deep exhale.

"Didn't show it to her of course, she has to think there's still a chance for her but god, that's just messed up." Chris shook his head, placing a comforting hand on Josh's shoulder. "So no, it was not real. You focus on strapping Ashley up and deal with Sam, I'll keep a look out and meet you soon enough."

"Bitch! I know this is a bit ironic coming from me but some things you just don't fucking do!" Gripping at his hair, the older man pulled away from his best friend and paced in a circle for a little bit as he tried to let off some steam. Sure, he himself was using the idea that his dead sisters were possessing a pair of dead miners in order exact revenge on the people who hurt them but that wasn't the same thing. THEY were HIS sisters that THEY got killed. If it had been their siblings that had died Josh would never use them in some bullshit prank!

"You wouldn't? Are you sure Joshie?" Beth's voice whispered in his ear, voice soothing despite the accusatory words.

"I wouldn't... I wouldn't do something like that to her." He responded on instinct, though thankfully Chris could have taken it a merely a stand alone sentence instead of a response to the voice of his dead sister in his head. Taking a deep breath, Josh closed his eyes before slipping the mask back over his face. 

"...Let's forget about it. She'll get her comeuppance soon enough. I'll see you in a couple of hours." Leaning down, he grabbed hold of the girls arm, dragging her none too gently out of the kitchen as both disappeared out the very door that Beth and Hannah had the year before.

***

During the next couple of hours, there had been no sight of Emily and Matt, a fact Chris was more than thankful for. He wasn't quite sure what to tell the others or how to make them take a longer path away from the shed or the lodge. He kept glancing at the clock nervously, and when the two hour mark came, he started making his way towards the shed.

Mid-way through, he started to call out for Ashley.

And even if he knew what would wait for him, he could not help the way his breath caught at the sight of an 'unconscious' Josh tied up on the wall with Ashley, the saw just waiting to cut through Josh's fake body. 

It was fake, just a fake, Josh would be fine.

Ashley's screams were like music to Josh's ears and it took everything in him not to burst out laughing in her face. As the voice recording overhead spoke to Chris and explained the little game, Josh allowed himself to play the part of the groggy and then terrified captive. It was shockingly easy to play the part, especially with Ashley screaming beside him and Chris doing an incredible job in selling himself as the horrified and desperate friend who wants to save them both. 

Josh and Ashley begged Chris in unison, Josh laying it on thick even as Ashley resorted to terrified crying and pleas not to let her die. Josh had told him that it didn't matter who Chris chose, because the lever would slice Josh's fake body in half either way, but there was still a nagging curiosity on who Chris would pick. Perhaps it was a bit cruel, the way he began pressing Chris for his answer, but a part of the brunette couldn't help but need to hear it. 

There was something to be said for the loyalty of a man who was still willing to choose you over the screaming girl beside you, despite already knowing that the saw's path was set to begin with. There was no benefit to Chris choosing him and Josh had already told him that it would probably be better if he didn't, if only to help with the illusion of Chris' interest in Ashley. So when Josh heard him apologize to Ashley the absolute adoration in his eyes was hard to miss.

Josh allowed himself a brief moment of thankfulness before playing into the his fake fear once more. It was so easy to just get lost in the situation, screaming out in pain and horror as the saw ripped through the flesh of the fake body. Yet the sight of Chris was panicking on the other side made it hard to truly get lost in the sadistic moment, the genuine emotion in the younger man flooding him with guilt. It was not Chris he wanted to prank or hurt. Just Ashley. 

Perhaps that's why he risked giving himself away when Chris placed his hand upon his cheek, especially when he felt the blond's fingers tremble ever so slightly.

Ashley was unable to look at him, her face buried in Chris' chest as she sobbed over what had just happened. As silently as possible, Josh tilted his head, pressing a kiss to the palm of Chris' hand. From Ashley's angle it would look like Josh's head had merely moved based on Chris action, but he and Chris knew better and that was all that mattered.

 

It had the desired effect. The kiss caused Chris' shoulders to sag as pure relief flooded through him, and it was hard to keep up the devastated friend act when Josh was alright. His friend was alive, Josh was alright and the plan would move on like they had agreed. His fingers twitched ever so slightly, brushing against Josh's chin tenderly in a sign he understood and perhaps a reassurance that he was alright before he turned to Ashley and lead the sobbing girl out of the shed.

It was easy to act hysteric to Matt and Emily when they met them outside on the trail, the blond allowing the earlier panic and despair to guide him through high-pitched, sobbing words over the saw and Josh and how he had killed the other.

As they had assumed, Emily was quick to demand she and Matt would go search for help, while Chris said he and Ashley would go search for Sam.

The four of them split up, and Chris knew this was Josh's chance to deal with Em and Matt, while he took care of Ashley.

***

Slipping his mask onto his face and ducking out a back door, Josh grabbed hold of his weapon before taking after Emily and Matt. He could hear one of them comment on how they should have seen for themselves what happened to Josh, causing him to frown. Waiting until the couple was far enough from the lodge and close to the path he had created for Emily, the brunette leapt from where he was hiding behind a tree, landing a solid punch that quickly knocked Matt out like a light. 

She didn't both to try and get Matt before she took off, Josh following after her with the dangerous looking club of barbed wire that he had constructed for just this occasion. When he was certain that she would not be coming back and was now thoroughly lost in the woods save for the path he had set for her to follow, he returned to Matt to find the younger man starting to wake up. Pulling out a piece of cloth covered in chloroform, he slid forward, pressing it against the struggling but dazed man's mouth, effectively knocking him out.

Dragging Matt through the snow was a lot harder then dragging Ashley, but somehow Josh made it to the Sanatorium and got the darker skinned man into the electric chair before he woke up. Making sure that the metal cuffs were secure and that the actual power was cut off, the older man nodded before heading out back to the lodge. 

Meanwhile, Ashley had calmed down some since the traumatic incident. While still on edge she was no longer in hysteric tears and had centered herself on searching for Sam alongside Chris. It was as they were searching that she began to speak. "Chris... Chris I just want to say...what happened back there in the shed... I know how hard that was... Josh was your friend..." Despite Chris's protests for her to stop she carried on. "No, I want to say-- I mean thank you-- thank you for saving my life--"

"...Of course Ash. I'd do it again." The lie came easily from his lips that he pressed back into a thin line as he lead Ashley through the lodge. Whenever she would doubt her strength to continue, Chris would usher her on with gentle words and careful smiles, once even pointing out that if they were to leave now, they might be the ones to kill Sam themselves.

That seemed to shake Ashley out of it, the younger girl taking a deep breath before following after Chris again.

The blond purposely lead Ashley through the rooms that he knew contained the 'clues', and watched her piece together the story Josh had come up with. He even lead her down the basement to find the film reel clip of the prank they had made on Hannah, and when Ashley snapped that Hannah had obviously overreacted to the whole thing, Chris saw red. 

The anger within him grew with each passing minute, and a part of him was looking forward for Josh knocking Ashley out again.

Eventually, they did find Sam, tied up like Josh had planned them to find her.

"She's still breathing." Chris said in relief as he pressed his fingers on her neck to check for the pulse, taking a step back from both girls.

As Chris stepped back, Josh moved forward, pressing a cloth to the younger man's lip. Ashley screamed out in shock and Chris began to actually struggle in his arms. While Josh knew it all to be an act, the struggle and sudden slump felt so real that he couldn't help but fear he had accidentally used the rag from when he had drugged Matt. Once more he was forced to put Chris in a horrible situation that had him suffering, unable to pull any punches in his acting as he dropped the younger man to the floor.

He's okay. He's okay. He doesn't hate you for this. He's okay. He isn't hurt. 

Ashley screamed out warning for him to stay back, but of course he didn't listen, stepping over Chris and moving towards her. What he didn't notice was the pair of scissors that the girl had picked up from who knows where that she suddenly jammed into his shoulder. Pain shot through his body and he bent over, pulling the scissor out of his flesh in his panic as he shook his head. "Oh no no no, live and learn!" 

"What?!" Ashley cried in confusion as he moved in closer once more, raising his fist up and punching the girl square in the face hard enough to knock her out.

"Live and learn." He repeated, before stumbling back into the wall, hand moving to clutch his shoulder. It hurt, it hurt horribly, but he didn't have time to think about it. Instead he waited the minute needed to make sure that Ashley was out, before moving over to Chris, tugging his fake unconscious body out of the room before leaning down to lightly pat at his cheek.

"Chris. Chris." He urged, pulling the mask off and flipping the voice modifier off. Without the mask, the pain and fear was clear in his eyes, worry over Chris taking precedence over all of them. "It's okay. You're okay right?! I used to right cloth and it was just an act right?!" The shakiness of his voice was hard to hide even with his skill as an actor.

"Hey, hey Josh it's fine, I'm fine." The blond hurried to assure his friend, sitting up on the hard ground with a small wince.

"Though I was not as prepared for the drop as I thought I were." No, it hurt horribly and he would surely bruise, but it did not matter right now. A quick glance at Ashley told that the girl was once again out cold, so he focused on reassuring his friend instead.

"Josh, you're bleeding!" The other noticed with shock, fingers scrambling to press lightly on the skin to stop the bleeding. "What the fuck--" No no no, not like this, he was supposed to keep Josh safe, to keep him happy.

He had failed again, because of Ashley.

"Are you alright? Josh, talk to me!"

"She stabbed me. With scissors. I pulled them out. I'm sorry... I panicked." Was Josh's response, cringing at the worry in Chris' voice. He had really messed up and now Chris was upset. 

"You're useless Josh. How could you be so stupid as to leave scissors lying around? Ashley is so smart of course she would know to use them." Imaginary Chris whispered in his brain, annoyed at his failure to consider someone might wield a weapon. Josh bit his lip to keep from whimpering as Beth and Hannah joined him in berating him. 

There was no time for this.

"G-get Ashley to where we need her. We have to move..." Batting Chris' hands away from his wound, Josh fumbled his way back to his feet, nearly falling over as a wave of dizziness but managed to push himself through it. "I'll... bandage myself up in the control room while we wait for Ashley to regain consciousness... your hands need to be clean though." Taking Chris' hands, he rubbed the blood off onto the still clean part of his overalls, only to frown at the lingering bits of red. 

The brunette's mind was so hazy that he didn't register that he had begun to lick Chris' fingers clean until the taste of copper hit his tongue. By then, he was already too far into it to stop and throwing caution to the wind sucked the fingers greedily in his mouth in a manner, cleaning them with his tongue in a way that was far from innocent.

Releasing Chris' wrists when he was finished, Josh offered him a weak smile and a salute. "I'll see you soon. Don't forget, the spare costume is hidden in the crate outside the other door to the room. Be sure the voice modulator is on too."

Chris was left standing there in shock, his mind reeling and repeating the last minute in his head. His fingers while clean from the blood felt sticky and warm, and he could see the redness stained on Josh's lips.

For a brief moment, he entertained himself with the thought of leaning over and cleaning it.

Preferably with his own lips.

"Right, got it." Chris choked out clearing his throat before bending down, lifting the unconscious girl in his arms. The urge to let her 'accidentally' drop again was big.

"I'll see you soon then." He added, flashing the other a slightly flustered grin before carrying Ashley in the other room. He wasted no time in placing her on the chair, tying her arms on it as well and with satisfaction realized that a huge bruise was already forming on her cheek.

Ashely taken care of, Chris walked behind the glass into the other room and sat down. He picked up the gun, playing with it absently as he waited for Ashley to wake up. All he'd have to do was wait for 'fake' Chris to respond to Ashley's words, and then 'shoot' himself when the time was right to create the illusion of death to the other.

Ashley was already freaking out, shuddering and sobbing about how they were both going to die. Pre-recorded Chris spoke comforting words to her and Josh did his best to play the recordings in as convincing a splice as possible. With the black eye and tear filled eyes that Ashley was sporting, it wasn't hard to make her believe that everything was real. 

Josh went on to explain the situation to the both of them, telling them that Chris had to choose to shoot himself, shoot Ashley through the glass window separating the two of them or allow the saws to kill them both. He even added a teasing tick tock noise as if to say that time was running out.

"It's going to be okay Ashley, I promise." Chris promised, voice thick with fear as he forced himself to take a shaky exhale. It was easy to say in his own words in between the pre-recorded ones-- they had purposely left 'empty' space in between so that he could react in case Ashley would do or say something neither of them could expect.

His hand shook as he picked up the gun from the table with his hand, and he brought it up under his jaw as soon as he had checked that the bullet inside truly was a blank and not a real one.

"Oh God Chris... don't do this. Don't do this please!" Ashley begged, watching as Chris prepared to shoot himself. She knew better then to think that it was because of her. She could see the devastation that Josh's death had caused the blond and she couldn't help but feel incredibly bitter over it. The fact Chris would not even hesitate to pull the trigger now, to not question whether this person was actually planning to follow through and stop the saws, told her that the blond didn't even care.

"Don't shoot yourself over Josh! He's not... not worth killing yourself over." The words fell from her mouth, flowing out into the room and filling it with a horrible tension. "He was messed up Chris! He was messed up and probably on drugs and it's better for you that he's gone!" Sobbing, the young woman shook her head.

Chris froze completely at the words, wide eyes staring at Ashley. The words cut deep, like they were meant to hurt him even if somewhere deep inside he knew that was not the case. But they would hurt Josh, Josh who was watching this, hearing everything Ashley spit out of her mouth.

Ashley was hurting Josh.

"You don't mean that." Chris shook his head slowly, his hand trembling. "You don't mean that, you don't mean that! He was worth more than the rest of you combined, he was a pure soul your fucking prank destroyed! It was your fault, all your fault I lost him!"

Ashley let out another cry, shaking her head at Chris' hysterical words. "He was a sicko, Chris! He wasn't right in the head and he never was! Hannah and Beth dying was just the trigger! You must have known! You must have! You chose to save me so you must have known deep down he was better off gone! He was twisted in the head Chris! Nobody sane does the things that he started to do! God Chris... his eyes were always so glazed over, it was like half the time he was so high on whatever drugs he was on that he wasn't even there! And he was starting to drag you into it!"

"Hannah and Beth died because of you! Not because of him!" Chris shouted, the blond lowering the gun from his own head as he glared at the girl. "He got sick because of you, he _suffers_ because of you! Without you doing that stupid prank that you did, he'd be fine! He'd be happy, he'd be smiling, he wouldn't break down when someone mentions his sisters to him!"

"We didn't push them off a cliff Chris! Hannah ran out of the house all on her own!" Anger had begun to lace the girls voice, her teary eye glaring at Chris over the accusation. "It was a stupid prank but that was all it was! A stupid prank! We didn't kill her Chris nor did we make Josh into that... that thing that he became when they died! He did that all on his own!"

The blond took in a shaky breath. "I was all he had left. I remained by his side for a year, I helped him through every nightmare, every panic attack, held him through the nights so he could get at least couple of hours of sleep. I need him as he much as he needs me, Ash, and you and the others are fucking blind to it!"

"Josh decided to lock himself away! Nobody pushed him away or abandoned him! If he was alone it was only because he decided to do so on his own! You wanna know why?! Because he was a nutcase with a victim complex and a desire to monopolize you all to himself to the point where it was unhealthy for YOU!" 

Struggling against her bonds, Ashley stared at Chris through the tears in her eyes. "You don't need him Chris! He probably told you that you did but you don't! He was just trying to take advantage of your kindness to baby him! It better that he's dead Chris! I'm glad he's dead and you should be too!"

Something snapped within Chris at those words. Not only did Ashley keep hurting Josh, she was hurting him too, she was playing him like Mike had played the sisters. She was trying to twist the words he had said, tried to turn him against Josh like everyone else had done.

"You're nothing but a coward, Ashley." Chris spat out. "You hide behind the innocence when in reality you're nothing like that. You use your big doe eyes to get everyone on your side, only to turn them against each other. But not with me, no, you can't do it with me." Chris laughed, his eyes slightly widened and hazy.

"I'm going to stay with Josh forever, and none of you can stop us! And you know what, Ash?"

His smirk spread even wider, fingers unloading the gun with surprising ease as he picked out the bullet, only to replace it with a real one.

The sound of the gun cocking was loud in the silence.

"I'm glad you're dead."

The gun was lifted, and fired within the next two seconds. 

The glass shattered at the impact, followed by the dull, wet noise as the bullet pierced through Ashley's throat.


	6. Chapter 6

"Oh oh god. Oh god... Chris what... she's dead... Oh god Chris... what did you DO?!" Josh's voice said over the intercom, horrified and terrified, not for himself but for the other man. "Sam is... Sam is going to be there any minute... any minute... I have to... she's already awake Chris! I have to... you need to hide! I'll find you... I'll protect you don't worry..." 

Pulling from the microphone Josh ran off towards where he would find Sam. He didn't bother stalking the girl, instead taking her by surprise around a corner and slamming her head against one the wall, effectively knocking her out for hopefully the rest of the night. His body was moving on instinct now, the need to keep Chris safe over-riding his common sense as he scooped up the unconscious Sam in his arms and made his way to the room where the blond man was waiting for him.

When he arrived, the panic was clearly heard in his voice, the voice box turned off so that it was more then clear who exactly was under that mask. "C-Chris?!?" Gently lowering Sam onto the ground, he searched the room for signs of the blond, before his eyes fell upon the body of Ashley. Slipping the mask from his face, the brunette drew closer, only to let out a whimper at the sight of the obviously dead young woman.

Shattered glass cracked under Chris' feet as he moved, the gun dropping on the ground as he stared at the body of the girl he used to love, and the blood that kept dripping on the ground in a steady stream.

He felt nothing.

No guilt.

No remorse.

No sadness.

Only the overwhelming feel of relief washed over him, and the blond threw his head back with a hollow laugh. "Can't hurt you anymore, can't hurt us, not anymore. Her voice was venom, Josh, she was poisoning us, trying to turn us against each other. She was to blame, all her fault, couldn't listen anymore, so cold, so so cold."

"You did this to him, Josh. If you hadn't gotten Chris involved then he never would have had this break down. Now not only are your sisters dead, but Ashley is too and Chris is the one who will end up in jail." Hallucination Chris said into his ear causing him to whimper, shaking his head and closing his eyes. This was wrong. This was so wrong and not okay.

Yet somehow he couldn't really bring himself to care too much about the dead girl slumped in the chair. Not after everything that she had said about him. About him being a sicko and a drug addict. Chris was right. Her words had been poison and now that she was gone she wouldn't be able to hurt him anymore. 

"You... did this for me?"

"She hurt you, she said bad things about you, about me. She couldn't stay. She could have told the others, then the others would think the same." A blank look crossed Chris' face. "...Maybe they already do."

Josh's legs gave out underneath him, the shock of the situation sending him to the ground with a sob, hand's clutching and pulling at his hair. "No. No no no no. This was all supposed to be just a prank. Nobody was meant to die. Nobody was meant to get badly hurt. This is wrong. This is wrong wrong wrong!"

He didn't understand. He didn't understand why Chris would think this was what he wanted. Yes, with Ashley dead she couldn't hurt him anymore, but Chris had now made Josh an accomplice to murder. They were going to go to jail. All the clues would eventually lead back to them.

"It's over. Our lives are over. We're going to jail for murder." Tears streamed down his face as he let out a horrified laugh. "Chris I can't go to jail! I'll end up dropping the soap! I always drop the soap Chris! It's slippery!"

The way Josh broke down was enough for Chris to sober up slightly from whatever pit he had fallen into. His gaze darted back over at Ashley, and for a moment he felt sick. He had killed someone, and he hadn't even hesitated to do so. He hadn't even thought he could do something like that.

He was broken beyond repair.

"Hey." Chris knelt down before Josh, touching his shoulder lightly. "You won't go to jail, I won't let them take you. I'll confess, it'll be alright. I'll tell them it was me, we have the tapes, you filmed it, didn't you? I can prove you had nothing to do with it."

"No! NO! That's worse! That's so much worse! I'd rather become someone's prison bitch then live my life alone again! I can't do it! I won't!" Shuffling backward and away from the blond, Josh's hand came to rest upon the discarded pistol.

Crazed and terrified green eyes shot towards the weapon, lifting it up with a shaking hand as he let out a hysterical laugh. "I won't. I can't. I can't but you would never let me go to prison. I know you. I know you Chris. You'd take the fall and then I'd be all alone again with the knowledge that you killed Ashley because of ME. That is was my fault!" Raising the gun to his head, the brunette looked up at the younger man as his eyes glazed over. 

The metal was still warm from the shot it had fired earlier, burning his flesh ever so slightly as his fingers ran over the trigger. The fact that there was no bullet inside had slipped his mind and had probably slipped Chris as well given the circumstances. As far as Josh was concerned, he truly was on the verge of shooting his own brains out onto the floor. 

"It's impossible. We can't hide that it was us. The others will find the clues even if Sammy doesn't. They will know we are behind this. Know that we killed her. It's done Chris. We're done, I could just shoot the bullet through my head right now..." Yet he hesitated. Not out of fear, but because he could see them. His sister's were standing a few feet away, casually leaning against the table where Ashley sat dead. His entire expression seemed to freeze in place as he watched them, eyes spontaneously absent of the emotions that had been flooding them only a moment before.

"You could always shoot it through theirs instead." Beth said with a casual indifference, as if she wasn't speaking to a man who had a gun pressed against his scalp. "You can take Sam down the mountain and then kill the others. She's out for at least twelve more hours. More than enough time to kill them all and hide the evidence pointing towards you and Chris."

Hannah smirked, her arms folded over her chest as she ran her fingers through the puddle of Ashley's blood, drawing in closer to gently smear it over Josh's face. "It would be easy. All you would have to do is remove the safety precautions on the traps. Mike... Mike should suffer. You can lure him to the morgue with the other bodies. Lay Jessica's mangled corpse out on display."

"The mines are massive but you know all the tunnels. You have it all in your head. Each hidden entrance or water filled cavern. You can sneak out and hunt for food using the guns and those hunting tricks your father taught you. Then in a week you two can emerge from the mines and play the haunted victims." Beth continued, mirroring her sisters actions only with Chris's face. "Chris was forced to shoot Ashley and dragged off into the mines. You found Sam's unconscious body in the snow to be eaten by wolves and carried her back down the mountain, leaving her your phone with a message telling her you went to find the others."

Watching his sisters as they continued to smear blood over his and Chris' skin, Josh's mind slowly came to agree with their words, the gun lowering as he nodded in agreement. "We can do it... we can make it work... we can burn the evidence and bury the weapons in the mine..."

"You can still save Chris." They both said in unison, before vanishing completely as Josh's lips curled into a mad grin.

"I can still save Chris. All we have to do is kill them. We'll kill them all but Sammy and then everything will be okay."

"Kill the others?" The younger boy echoed silently, a small frown grazing his features. Everyone expect Sam. Sam had never done anything wrong, she had tried to help. The others were to blame, it was their fault the sisters died, their fault Josh turned into this empty shell of his former self, their fault Chris was losing his mind.

Eventually, the others would poison them too. It was not safe. They did not need the others, hadn't needed for a year and wouldn't need in the future. Just them, it'd be just them and they would be safe. 

Just like before.

"...We can stop them from poisoning others." Chris agreed quietly, the idea pleasing him greatly the more he thought about it. "They can't tear us apart, Josh, they can't. We'll be together, right? Just us, no one else. I can't live without you, Josh, don't make me live without you. I need you."

Letting out a small noise from the back of his throat, the older male slowly crawled forward towards his best friend, his fingers once more cupping the younger man's face between his hands. This was what he wanted. This was what he needed to hear. That so long as Chris had him that he could live without anyone else in his life. Josh was the only thing he needed just like Chris was the only one that Josh needed.

"I love you. I won't ever leave you. We'll be together forever. I promise. I need you too, Chris." Pressing his lips against those of the younger man, Josh allowed himself to get swept away by the emotions he was feeling. The taste of Chris on his tongue was sublime, even with the coppery tint from the blood that he had licked from the other's fingers earlier, and just the feeling of being able to do this was enough to leave him shuddering. Chris may not love him, but he needed him, and that was good enough for Josh.

They were making out beside their friend's dead body, yet Chris could not pull himself away from Josh. Because Josh needed him. He made Josh happy, he made Josh smile and laugh again. _This_ made Josh need him, want him.

Whatever remains of logical thought the blond had had left, it was far gone by now. All that remained was the overwhelming need to keep Josh happy, and to remain by his side so they could be together forever.

"What will we do now?" He asked softly against Josh's lips, his fingers tracing the brunette's chin lightly. "What do you need me to do?"

"We get Sammy off the mountain." Slipping away from the blond haired man, Josh moved to kneel beside the unconscious girl, gently running his fingers over the bruise that was beginning to form on her forehead. "Go gather up as many blankets as you can carry in as many bags as you can carry while I find my phone. If we roll her around in the snow a little bit we can make it seem like the killer left her out to get eaten by wolves. I'll leave my phone with her telling her about finding her and managing to get her down the mountain with the blankets and that I ran off to find you and the others after finding Ashley dead. She doesn't know I'm supposed to be dead so she won't question it. She'll call the police and an excuse as to how Sam ended up at the bottom of the mountain and alive." 

He seemed to contemplate things for a little bit after that, debating who should be the one to take Sam down the mountain. While it was his phone that they would be leaving and story wise it would make more sense for him to do it, he was also the only one who could safely undo the safety precautions on the electric chair to kill Matt. "You should be the one to take her down. I'll meet you again at the elevator that Jess is supposed to take to get into the mines to discuss things further."

"I'll meet you by the elevator then." The blond agreed lifting himself up from the floor, giving his friend a small, reassuring smile before he bent over and picked Sam up carefully. They were not going to hurt her. She had tried to save Hannah, and help them. She was innocent.

His touch on her skin was gentle, the blond soothing her with soft words that she could not hear. 

The next half a hour was spent by gathering up as many blankets as he could, and shoving them in large bags. The ones that did not fit, he wrapped around Sam's body after smothering her clothes and hair with the snow. He just hoped she would wake before something serious happened to her.

Carrying her down the mountain was not easy, and Chris had to do two trips for it. The first time he carried down Sam, clutching the other against his chest, feet slipping on the icy path. He settled her down to sit against a tree behind the small bus stop, hiding her from the view but also sheltering her from the wind. After having checked that the blankets remained around her, Chris returned to the lodge and carried out the bags of blankets.

To top it all off, Chris placed Josh's phone in her hands, and hesitated before kissing Sam's forehead as an apology before hurrying back towards the mines and the elevator for the next step.

The light of the phone illuminated the pale girl's skin for a moment, the note option open where Josh had written a very believable message filled with spelling mistakes, lack of periods and commas as well as missing letters to emphasize the urgency it had been written in.

_  
'Sammy its Josh. Call the police. Ashley is dead. I have no idea what is happening but i need to find the others. I left you with as many blankets as i culd find and bring down to keep you warm after finding you in the snow. I think some nutter snuck into the lodge. god sam im so sorry i should have taken the fact someone had broken in more seriosly I hope youre alive but i dont even have the time to find out. I have to find Chris and the others. if i dont come back im sory im so sorry. I never should have brought everyone up here.'_

***

Chris had never been in the mines before, not this deep in them at least. The blond's steps were cautious as he walked, following what he hoped were Josh's footprints. For all he knew, they belonged to some kind of real psycho who lived under the mountain, eating moss and sucking water from the stones.

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Chris turned the corner and spotting the cables running up around the wooden pillars, he set off to follow them. "Just like in Jurassic Park." The blond muttered. "Follow the cables, you'll find the right place."

Eventually, he did find his way to the elevator. Seeing Josh sent a burst of pure relief through the younger man's body, and he breathed out shakily. "For a moment there, I thought I was lost." Chris swallowed arms wrapping around himself as he joined the brunette, gaze flicking over the elevator.

Everything about Josh screamed that he was on edge, from the way his eyes seemed to dart all over the place to the tense way he held himself. It was clear that while he had sounded so calm and collected earlier that he truly was just as frazzled about their situation as Chris was, if not more so due to having the pressure of being the only one capable of thinking up a plan and modifying the traps.

His lips pressed into a tense frown at the younger man's words. If Chris wasn't confident about his way through the mines then things might not go as smoothly as Josh had hoped. He couldn't afford to lose the blond down there after all. Not to mention Chris had already made a decent sized mistake that put their plan on jeopardy. "I told you to only take as many blankets as you could carry Chris. Why did you make a second trip? Nobody would risk sneaking into a house for fucking blankets when they think there is a killer on the loose!" 

Snapping at the other male hadn't been what he wanted to do but the pressure of the situation was putting Josh on edge. Stepping forward, his fingers grabbed hold of Chris' collar, all but slamming the younger man against the wall as he moved his face in closer. Green eyes were filled with anger, but the sharp fear in them as well was a clear indication that he was more scared of what might happen to the blond if they were discovered than he was mad at him for making a mistake. "I can't lose you over something like that. I can't. I won't. So use your head Chris. Don't be stupid."

Peppering soft kisses to the other's face as he released his collar to gently run his hands over the other male's shoulders and arms, he took a step back now that his lecture had been given. His lips slowly cracked into an unstable grin and his glazed eyes took in the sight of the blond man before him. "It's okay. We can fix it later. Grab a couple of blankets and bring them to the mine. We'll need them to keep warm while we bunker down." 

Turning around, he grabbed the bag that he had filled with evidence, shifting through it before taking out the pistol once more. "Here. You'll need this." Holding the weapon out for Chris, he also extended a hand filled with the pistol bullets. "We're going to the Sanatorium. Emily should be finding Matt anytime now. All I need to do is turn on the actual power to the electric chair and we'll fry him right in front of her."

Chris' fingers curled around the offered gun, the familiarity of it nearly frightening the younger man. "And what about Emily? She's going to run away after that, most likely." Chris pointed out checking the barrel of the gun before clicking the safety on.

"We'll shoot her." Was Josh's final decision, pressing his fingers against his temple and making a 'kablooey' noise before moving over to where he had stashed the rope ladder. "She's a bitch, but out of the ones remaining she played the smallest part in the prank. Besides, seeing Matt fry will be torture enough. Unless you have any ideas?" Tying the ladder up with careful attention as he spoke, the brunette chanced a glance back at Chris every so often as he tried to think more into their plot.

"I'll take care of her. You center on gathering up the evidence in the Sanatorium. We can't leave anything that may suggest that there was more then one killer." Stashing the shotgun inside of the bag with a bit of careful maneuvering, Josh tested the rope one more time before climbing onto it. While it wobbled a bit, he had made sure that it would be capable of handling his weight and the weight of his tools, so the bag slung over his shoulder was hardly a problem. "I'll call up when I've reached the bottom to tell you when to climb down. We'll make a quick detour to dump the evidence I have in the bag and then head over to the Sanatorium."

The climb down was one that Josh must have done a million times before, but it never got any less difficult or terrifying. There was something about climbing down into the cold darkness of the mines that was just plain unsettling regardless of how much experience one may have. It didn't help that the visions of his sisters always popped up during his trips down there, no doubt due to the close proximity to the location of their deaths. How ironic that it was only after he had failed to find them down here when Hannah was still alive that he could find the spot she had breathed her last breath without fail in a matter of thirty minutes. If only he had taken the time to map out the mines earlier in their youth, perhaps then at least one of his sisters would still be alive.

No. It wasn't his fault. It was the others. The ones who had caused Hannah to run from the safety of the Lodge and out into the wilderness during the storm. It was their fault that they were gone. Their fault that everything good in Josh's life became twisted and dark with misery and grief. Not his.

Setting his feet down on solid ground was an action that offered little comfort either. Chris had never been the most athletic of individuals and the blond had always been horrible at climbing, so the idea of him going down the rickety rope ladder was not exactly one that Josh had ever hoped to see come into fruition. Still, they were pressed on time and the fastest way to the Sanatorium was through the mines. 

"Alright! You're set to climb down!"

"I don't want to." Chris choked out quietly, more to himself than to be heard. He had not been this unsure nor scared in ages, not even the aftermath of killing a friend of his had made him feel this shaky.

His grip from the rope was tight enough to burn the palms of his hands, and the weight of the gun on his back pocket burnt through his jeans as he started to descend down he rope slowly.

Naturally, he could not get far.

2/3 of the journey was done when the fear seized Chris, and he clutched on the rope as if his life depended on it. For all he knew, that just might be the case.

"I.... I think you should go ahead without me." Chris stammered out, squeezing his eyes shut. "I can't-- This is---This is going to take a while--" His breath was coming out labored, the walls of the tunnel closing in on him, tearing a fearful whine from his lips.

Dumping the bag of evidence and his gun onto the ground, the brunette took a moment to examine the situation. Chris was still a good ways up and if he let go then he would surely break a bone in his ankle. Yet there was no way that the blond would be getting down and Josh needed him to be able to get down as soon as possible or the plan for Matt and Emily might be ruined.

"Chris. I want you to listen to me very carefully, alright?" The tone of his voice was gentle, but also full of a sense of authority Josh didn't even know he could manage. "I want you to take a couple of deep breaths and let go."

"Are you insane?!" Chris shouted, voice cracking from shock and fear as his grip from the rope only tightened to the verge of being painful. "No way, there's no way I'm letting go!" 

I don't want to end up like Hannah and Beth was left unsaid, the blond squeezing his eyes shut tightly.

He could break his legs, his body could tilt the wrong way and he'd hit his head on the wall. Fuck with his luck, he'd end up hanging himself on the fucking rope! "I can't, I can't, Josh you need to go, I'll get down somehow." Josh had to leave, he had to get to Matt and Emily before it would be too late.

"Chris shut up! There is no way that I am abandoning you alone in this mine!" This time there was fear laced in Josh's own voice as he stared up at the younger man. If Chris fell while trying to get down when Josh wasn't there to catch him who knew what might happen to the blond? 

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Josh once more tried to calmly speak with his partner in crime. "Chris. Listen to me. I love you. I wouldn't tell you to jump if I wasn't fully intending to catch you when you fell. I'm right here. All you need to do is trust me. I promise, I will catch you." Holding out his arms, the brunette offered the terrified blond a small, reassuring smile. "I will ALWAYS catch you."

"This is insane, this is completely mad." Chris choked out, having to bite down a shout of pain when he slid down slightly on the rope, burning his hands against the rough material. There was not much strength left in his arms, he could either let go and trust Josh would catch him, or he could fall down and end up dead.

He did trust Josh, that was not the problem. He knew Josh, he knew the older man would not let anything happen to him. Josh was always there to catch him whenever he had fallen or tripped over, or when someone had bumped against him too hard and sent him staggering backwards.

Josh always caught him before he could get hurt.

"Alright, alright. I trust you." Chris murmured quietly, glancing down at Josh before releasing a shaky breath. "I trust you, I trust you, I-- fuck Josh-- Alright--"

Glancing down to make sure Josh was ready for him, Chris tilted his head briefly before squeezing his eyes back shut.

His fingers released their strained hold, and Chris fell.

Catching someone falling from several feet above you was far different from catching someone who happened to be right beside you, Josh quickly came to realize. The force of impact as Chris landed in his arms left the older man winded, staggering him back as he let out a grunt of pain, arms wrapping around the blond man's waist as he eased his fall. Still, Josh had proven that Chris' trust had not been misplaced, catching the younger man just as promised and safely setting him down before stumbling back until his body rested against the wall.

His arms felt like they had nearly been ripped from their sockets and he was pretty sure that the stab wound on his shoulder may have opened up again despite the crude stitches, not to mention the fact he would obviously be bruised come tomorrow. But as his eyes looked towards Chris he found that it was well worth it. Yes, it hurt, but it was a small price to pay for the blond safely being back on the ground. 

Still heavily winded, the brunette held up a hand as if to say for Chris to give him a moment to collect himself, taking deep breaths and trying not to pass out from the strain. After a good minute of getting air back into his lungs he was confident enough to look up at the blond, offering him a small grin. "I told you I would catch you."

"Oh my god." Chris slumped down against the wall, feeling his heart try to fight its way from his chest. His legs kept shaking from fear and adrenaline, and it mixed with the nervous yet relieved laugh that burst out from his lips.

The brunette was obviously in pain, and the landing had not been soft on neither one of them so Chris knew both of them would bruise in some way. It did not stop him from stumbling over to Josh, grabbing a hold of his face before he crushed their lips together. 

He could taste the dirt and a hint of iron on Josh's lips, but the relief and joy overwhelmed him as he laughed against the other. "Thank you, fucking hell man-- knew I could trust you." The blond grinned pulling back with slightly flushed cheeks, inclining his head towards the tunnel. "Shall we then?"

Swallowing thickly as Chris pulled away to speak, there was a brief moment of blankness on his expression before reality caught up and smacked Josh in the face. They needed to move. There was no time to contemplate the meaning behind Chris' actions. Emily would be arriving at Matt's location very shortly and they still had to dump the evidence in the bag and make it through the mines. 

His hand reached out to secure Chris, squeezing it tightly as he turned towards the dark tunnels of the mines. "Yeah. Let's go." Voice still a bit breathless yet filled with a new found determination, the older man began to journey through the mines and towards the Sanatorium, pausing only for a quick detour into a small, well hidden side room where he dumped out unneeded contents of the bag. "There is a small hole here that leads to the surface. We can burn the evidence here without worrying about the smoke." He explained as he gathered it up in a pile, leaving only the bullets and his gun. Some of the stuff would need to be buried, but everything else would be fine.

They would be fine.

"I was going to have you drag Jess's body through the mines while I chased Mike to the Sanatorium, but we need to switch on that if you can't climb down the rope ladder. I'll show you the path he's supposed to take when we leave the Sanatorium." Josh explained as they set out once more, ignoring the fact that he sisters were following them silently through the mines. "It isn't difficult. Just be sure keep your mask on and not get taken by surprise. Mike's strong and he does have the rifle, even if it only has blanks."

"So, where can I find the other mask?" Chris asked straightening up fully. "I assume you're going to go switch off the safety of Matt's trap, so we kill time if I go pick the supplies up myself and meet you somewhere close to the chair room."

Slipping away from the main path, Josh made his way around the back of the Sanatorium's main gate, following it a little ways until he abruptly stopped near a section of the wall that had partially caved in. Leaning down and moving away a few of the stones, he pulled out an old knapsack and tossed it to Chris. "Right here. Technically, you were supposed to get changed into the spare outfit at the house, but you kind of blanked after shooting Ashley. Thankfully, I always come prepared and brought a spare costume just in case."

The blond hadn't even realized that, but now that he thought back to that certain moments, he realized he could only pick up pieces of memories about the whole ordeal. Like someone had erased the valid parts for some reason.

Chris opened the bag, finding inside a costume and mask much similar to Josh's own and the sight thrilled him for some reason. They could be similar, act the same. Like two beings of one soul.

Wasting no time Chris pulled the overall jeans over his own clothes, changing his blood covered shirt into the blue one before attaching the strap of the jeans over his shoulders. The mask was pulled on last, though he left it hanging around the side of his neck for now. He needed a proper view of the path they would be taking, and that would be hard with the mask already on.

"We separate here. You need to gather up the stuff we left around for them to find. I don't have time to tell you everything I left so just shove anything that looks clue like in there." Josh hesitated for a moment. "Stay safe. We'll meet up at the entrance once Emily and Matt are dead."

"Got it." Chris assured the other, holding the bag close to his chest as Josh moved to kiss him. Once again he was embraced by the feeling of safety and belonging, and the blond relished on it for couple of seconds before he pulled back smiling. "I'll meet you there."


	7. Chapter 7

Whatever she had expected to find after wandering through the Sanitorium for what felt like hours, this was not it. Of course a part of her felt joy for finding Matt again, and a quick pat on his cheek told her that he was still alive. 

Emily had been worried about him ever since that psycho had jumped them out of nowhere, and even if she didn't want to admit it, she had ran away without even trying to fight to help Matt. But if she had remained, then they both might be in this kind of situation and who would have helped them then?

But the fact he was tied up to a fucking _electric_ chair had her remaining on the edge, dark eyes studying the room quickly before she knelt back in front of Matt and slapped him a little bit harder. "Matt! Come on Matt, wake up! This is totally not the time to be sleeping!"

A low groan slipped from the dark skinned man's lips as the sharp stinging sensation snapped him out of his state of unconsciousness. Blearily, his eyes opened to the concerned and terrified face of his girlfriend. "...Em? What...?" Attempting to move his arms, he found himself unable to do so and his gaze quickly turned from Emily's face down to the metal clasps that surrounded his wrists.

Panic began to flood him as he looked around the room now, taking in the dark, creepy location and his current predicament. "Holy shit. Holy shit!" Struggling against his bonds, the sound of something sparking to life in the corner alerted him to the fact that something really bad was about to happen. 

"Good evening Emily. Matthew. I'm glad to see that you both have found each other again." Josh said into the microphone, voice modified by the voice box and giving that same unsettling tone as before. "I was starting to think I hadn't made the path clear enough." A sadistic sense of glee filled him as he watched Matt's struggling continue to grow as his voice echoed in the room. No doubt they had an idea that this was most likely the same person who had supposedly killed Josh earlier.

"What the heck do you want?!" Emily shouted straightening up, her eyes staring at the speaker from where the voice had come from. "Let him go you maniac!"

Her fingers returned to the straps around Matt's hands, trying to pluck them off to release Matt. The psycho's words told her enough-- he was insane, and had planned the whole ordeal. She feared for their friends lives.

"Now now. No need for name calling. We're all civilized people here." Twirling some of the long hair at the back of his mask, Josh smiled as he leaned against the control table and spoke. He could see Emily pointlessly struggling to free Matt from the bonds. It would take nothing short of superman to be able to undo the metal clasps the held the dark skinned youth to the chair.

"That is why I set up this little game for you in particular. You're such a clever woman, Emily. I'm sure that you'll be able to figure out my little puzzle. Of course... if you can't figure it out then Matthew will have to pay the price for your incompetence." A low chuckle escaped Josh's lips as he pressed another button, the sound clip of a scene from The Green Mile where Del is screaming as he is electrocuted, complete with sound effects, playing for them both. 

Matt grew pale, his eyes darting towards Emily as he sunk back into the electric chair. Again, Josh almost felt sorry for the young man, but given his part in the prank that stole his sisters he couldn't bring himself to stop the game now. "Of course... there is one more way... you could always tell him the truth Emily. But... I'm sure you'll be able to solve this problem in the five minutes I'm giving you. Starting... now."

"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about." Emily snapped, turning around to look at the control panel instead.

Emily's refusal to admit her wrongdoings didn't come as a surprise to Josh. In fact, had she actually openly admitted to what she had done he might have even humored the notion of letting Matt go due to sheer amount of growth she would have shown. Instead she took his bait just as expected, opting to continue to hide her own guilt than woman up and admit she did something wrong.

The puzzle he had set up for her was difficult and required a good deal of knowledge about mechanical engineering that he knew Emily did not have. Yet it was possible to brute force it if one was good enough with math and physics and enough time. However, time was not what Emily had and as smart as the girl was there simply was no way that she would be able to solve it in the allocated time. 

Leaning forward when the timer trickled down to two minutes, he began singing out the jeopardy tune as the girl frantically worked. Matt was truly beginning to sweat now, the younger man's eyes twitching back and forth between the cuffs and Emily. Josh knew that he knew she wouldn't finish in time, and maybe if he had some balls he would have pressed her for the truth. Matt had always been a pushover though and much like his earlier notion of freeing him if Emily had shown some growth, Josh too would have possibly freed him if he had made an attempt to stop being such a doormat.

"Fuck, fuck fuck--" The minutes ticked by, and she was still not any closer to finishing the puzzle than she was in the beginning. This was more like Mike's field, or perhaps even Matt's, but definitely not hers. She was losing hope, and the sight of the trembling boy on the chair did not help to ease her guilt.

"Alright, fine! You win! Let him go, I'll tell him!" She shouted, slamming her hands against the console frustrated and agitated. "I slept with Mike, alright? Just when we started dating with Matt. I didn't mean to, it didn't mean anything, let him go!"

Matt's face dropped at the girls words. "God damnit Em! I trusted you! I'm a person! Not a plaything!" Hurt replaced his fear, as the belief that Emily's confession would at least be enough to save his life, even if it did mean the end of their relationship. 

"I'm so sorry. Look's like you're... fifteen seconds too late. You really should have been more honest at the start." Josh said with a sadistic sense of glee as he watched the horror spread on both of their faces before flipping the switch to send the electricity through the electric chair. 

Matt's screams echoed through the building as his body violently convulsed and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Blood began to pour from his mouth as his teeth sunk into the flesh of his tongue from the sudden lack of control of his actions. His fingers clawed at the arms of the chair before they and Matt went limp, the electricity continuing to flow through him for a half-minute longer before Josh flipped off the switch. 

"And another one bites the dust."

"Matt, oh my god Matt!" Her first instinct had been to run to Matt, to try to tear him away from the chair but she stopped herself just in time. If she was to touch him now, she'd get shocked herself. "You sick bastard! You absolute psycho!"

A whimper slipped from her lips, and the stench of burnt meat was too much for her to handle. She spun around, retching and throwing up on the floor. Falling back in his seat, Josh watched as Emily stumbled out of the room crying and hacking, leaving the now dead body of her boyfriend slumped in the chair. In thirty minutes or so Josh would be able to move it safely and use it as a prop in his torture of Mike, but for now he would allow the former football star to continue to lay there like a rag doll. 

He felt no real remorse for what he did. Matt had taped Hannah during the prank. He deserved his death. Still, perhaps it had been a bit cruel to force him to hear about Emily's betrayal right before he died. 

Shaking his head, Josh slid from his chair and took hold of his shotgun. Emily needed to be taken care of before she escaped back into the woods. 

***

How could this be happening? This couldn't be real.

Stumbling down the dark hallways of the Sanatorium, Emily kept repeating those same words in her head over and over again. There was no possible way that Matt and Josh were dead. This all had to be some elaborate, sick prank. Any moment now Josh would jump out and yell 'Gotcha!' and Matt would tell her that he suspected her of cheating on him all along and this was payback for using him. 

As much as she tried to convince herself that Matt wasn't dead the less she believed herself. The smell of burning flesh had been too real. The blood and the dead, glassy look on her boyfriends eyes far to convincing to be fake. Matt was dead and had she just been honest with him from the start he would still be alive right now.

The taste of bile on her tongue was strong and her legs felt like they would give out at any moment but she knew that she had to get out of there and into the forest. The killer was around here somewhere, no doubt coming for her next. If she could make it back to the lodge and the others there would be safety in groups. Chris might not have been the strongest of men, but he did know how to use a gun. Between the two of them perhaps there would be some hope of getting off the mountain alive.

Rounding a corner, she suddenly caught sight of a masked figure shoving what looked to be some kind of letter into a bag. A familiar bag that she had seen the owner purchase several years before and had been a steady part of their trips to the lodge ever since. A bag that said owner had mysteriously NOT brought with him that day.

It was Josh's bag.

"JOSH?!"

Chris' head jerked up at the sudden shout, the bag nearly falling from his grip at the sight of the dark haired girl. What was Emily doing there? She wasn't supposed to run this way, was she? They had never established the route Emily would be taking after leaving Matt, which was proving to be a bad decision from the two boys as Chris was faced with the shocked girl.

"Close." Chris finally replied grinning behind the mask, a hand rising to lift the mask over his head. "What's wrong, Em? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Chris wasn't lying. As the blond stripped the mask from his face Emily's went pale and she took several steps away from the young man before him. Chris was behind Matt and Josh's death? But the blond man loved Josh! They were practically brothers, if not romantically involved with one another. Frankly, it had always been difficult to tell with those two.

It didn't add up. Chris couldn't have been the killer. Everything about his reaction when she had spotted him proved that he hadn't expected her to be in this area. If the killer had been Chris, he would have known.

Which could only mean one thing.

"You've been playing us the whole time with Josh haven't you?" The anger in her voice was unmistakable, mixed in with the fear and the sorrow. "We should have checked that shed when we had the chance! I bet he was never dead in the first place!" It could only be Josh. Only Josh would have the necessary tools in order to do this. Only Josh would have the smarts and the motive to do this. 

"Matt is dead, Chris! Matt is dead! He's really dead! Not faking being dead like Josh. Actually dead!" Tears spilled from her eyes as her face scrunched up in anger and pain.

"So is Ashley." Chris commented like he was speaking of the weather, fingers curling around his gun as he pulled it free from the pocket. Darkened eyes turned to look at Emily, lips curling in a spiteful smile.

"She spoke badly about Josh. Was supposed to fake my own death, but she kept talking and talking and talking... so I shot her instead. No one's going to miss her, she was to blame, she was rotten."

Again, the sound of the safety clicking off was loud in the silence that followed, the blond tilting his head a bit as he stared at Emily. "Are you speaking bad words too?"

"No. No I'm not. Josh has gone through enough to not need anyone making bad comments about him. I'm sad because Matt is dead and I'm hurt and confused over why this is happening." She took a deep breath, removed the anger from her face and shook her head, holding her hands up carefully. 

"No. No, you lied... you lied to Matt." Chris replied shaking his head, the grip of his gun tightening. "You lie to everyone to get what you want, even if it would hurt those around you." 

"I lied to Matt and I feel horrible about it! I feel horrible about a lot of things, Chris!" Emily said, shocking even herself as she found tears once more running down her cheeks. "I feel sorry for using Matt as a rebound. I feel sorry about having slept with Mike even though we were both in relationships. I feel sorry for taking part in that horrible, stupid prank that Jess came up with last year!" 

Again, Emily wiped the tears from her eyes, smearing her eyeliner over her face as she stared at the man in front of him fearfully. "You aren't well Chris. You and Josh are sick, but there isn't anything wrong with that. You just need help. Let's put the gun down and find Josh and get off this mountain together, okay? We'll tell the police what you did and they will get you both the help you need. No prison. No angry, mean words. Just help."

"The police will force us apart, they'll take me away, Josh just tries to protect me. Josh did nothing, I did, I killed her, me." The blond shook his head again, one of his hands clutching his head as he swayed slightly on his feet. The mere thought of being torn away from Josh, to see his friend suffer because of him cut deep in the younger man's heart.

It was a risk he could not take.

"Clean the evidence and clues, Chris. That's what he told me. Clean..." Blue eyes fixed upon the young female. "You're evidence."

"Chris no. Please Chris... please don't do this." She was evidence. She was something that needed to be cleaned up. She needed to get out of there. Chris was too far gone to be reasoned with but maybe Josh wouldn't be. If she could find Josh maybe she could help him understand that she wasn't a threat.

She didn't get the chance. 

The sound of the gun echoed through the halls along with the wet slapping noise of blood against the cloth, skin and the walls. The woman's body fell to the ground, twitching once, twice before falling still. 

It was at that moment that Josh, clad in his mask and wielding his shotgun turned around the corner. "What the... oh. You got her first, huh?" Slipping the mask from his face Josh stepped closer, looking at the body of the young asian woman before turning to look at the now very unstable Chris. 

He looked awful was the first thought that ran through Josh's mind, prompting him to drop the shotgun and move to gently pull his beloved best friend into his arms, cradling Chris' head against his chest. "Shhhhhhh. I'm here. I'm here." He whispered, trying to sooth the madness from his friends gaze and ease the lingering tension that came from the encounter with the now deceased Emily.

The younger man closed his eyes as Josh's arms slid around his body, holding him in a tight, reassuring hug that had Chris deflating against the other. His free hand fisted on Josh's shirt, no doubt smearing blood on the other as well. 

Josh was there.

Josh was catching him again.

"S-She caught me by surprise." The blond stammered out. "Thought I were you at first, tried to make me agree to go to the police--" He sucked in a sharp breath, turning a slightly bewildered look at his friend. "But she can't tear us apart, right?"

"No. She can't. She's dead just like Ashley. She can't tell anyone anymore of her lies." Josh confirmed, leaning down to press a soft kiss to the younger man's nose. "Nobody is going to tear us apart. I promise. We'll be together forever. All we need to do is finish off what we started."


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warning, there's some dick touching in this chapter that could be considered dubcon seeing how the boys are not in their right set of mind.

That's right. They still needed to take care of Jess and Mike. The two people who were most at fault for what had happened to Hannah and Beth. The people who had started all of this. 

It was their fault that poor, beautiful Chris was had become so horribly twisted. 

It was their fault that things had come to this.

Letting out a delighted laugh at the idea of giving the pair their just desserts, Josh nuzzled his face against that of his partners. "Don't worry Chris. She's the last one you have to kill. I'll be the one to end the other two so you can just relax and enjoy the show, okay? Just think about how happy Beth and Hannah are and how great it will be to get off the mountain in a couple of weeks. We can go on a vacation together to the Caribbean or Hawaii. Or Europe. Anywhere you want. I'll take you anywhere you want to go."

Gently running his fingers up and down the younger man's back to softly bury themselves in the strands of blond hair at the nape of his friends neck, Josh reveled in the feeling of closeness that this moment brought them. Even now, standing so close to the body of one of their former friends, he still found himself getting lost in the soft blue color of Chris' eyes. The trust and adoration the younger man felt for him filled the brunette with an intense surge of affection that made it impossible for him not to press their lips together. 

Emily's blood tainted their kiss with that familiar coppery taste but Josh didn't even mind. The techie's lips were chapped and chilled from the weather, but they quickly warmed as he ran his tongue over them, collecting the droplets of blood that lingered there. From somewhere behind him Hannah and Beth groaned, telling him he was wasting time, but he couldn't be bothered to care. 

Parting from Chris' mouth was harder than he thought it would be and when he did his eyes were glazed over and distant. In his head the voices of his sister and his own argued over Chris' place in this. 

"He's becoming a dangerous weakness Josh. He's sloppy and his ability to keep himself together is quickly fading." The sharpness of Hannah's voice as she stepped out from the shadows to wrap her hands around Josh's throat, squeezing harshly in a way that had Josh gasping for air. "He's going to get you both killed if you don't take him out."

"Shut up... he's off limits. Shut up... he's mine and no one can have him. Not even the two of you." The words came out softly, a surge of possessiveness flashing through him as he pulled Chris even closer, their bodies pressed flush against each others. He would protect Chris. He would keep Chris beside him no matter what. They will never be parted from one another again after this night was over. 

Hannah seemed displeased by this, but she released her hold on Josh's throat, stepping back into the shadows. "It's your funeral, Joshie."

The glazed look in his eyes slowly regained some clarity. "Yeah. Yeah. You take care of Mike and I'll see to it that Jess has a nice elevator trip straight to hell where she belongs. But first... let's leave Mike a nice trail of bodies to follow when he gets here... straight to the morgue. Ooooh. We can lay Jessica on the autopsy table for him." The giddiness returned as he thought about the shock and horror that would come when Mike found his girlfriends dead, naked body laying on that cold table. 

Would it be the same look of horror and grief that had been Josh's when he saw his sisters lying on similar tables roughly a year before? He hoped so. The karma would be so sweet.

"We should get to it then, before Mike and Jess decide to return to the lodge by their own accord." Chris said pulling back from the possessive embrace, clicking the safety on the gun before pocketing it and turning to face the second body of their friend.

Wasting no time Chris lifted her up, the lifeless body weighting a bit more than he had assumed but still managed to keep both his balance and Emily in his arms. 

"Where should we put her?"

"That's a good question... if I remember correctly the morgue should be..." Turning away from Chris, Josh looked out over the empty halls, trying to recall the layout of the Sanatorium in his mind. The best place to put Emily would be at the second point and not the first. Matt could be placed out in the open, showing off the dead body and giving Mike a reason to panic and try and find those he thought still alive faster. 

"Find a room nearish the morgue and sit her down in a visible corner as if she were crying. You know. Hands over face, shoulder's slumped, knees against her chest. Make sure that from the room she's in there is a straight line of sight to the morgue door. We'll leave it open and put Jess on the farthest table from the entrance. While he is distracted with her we'll enter and lock the room behind him." 

Yes. That worked right? If they hid in one of the other rooms that Mike would no doubt overlook due to the already open door of the morgue then they could easily slip out of it while the brunette was distracted with his dead girlfriend. From there, Josh will reveal himself to Mike and torment him with the knowledge that everyone was dead because of what he did to Hannah. 

"I'll figure out what to do with Matt, so meet me at the front entrance of the Sanatorium once you've set things up. Oh... and Chris...?" Pausing thoughtfully, the brunette looked at the younger man with a brief but intense amount of affection. "I love you. I'll see you soon."

"I know." Chris smiled softly at the words, the slightly maniac look in his eyes softening into something much more gentler, something lovable before he blew Josh a teasing kiss and started carrying Emily's body to a room suitable for their needs.

He traveled around rather lost at first, not having been in the Sanitarium before, but eventually he found the morgue after rounding another corner of long hallways. The place creeped him out, caused him to shudder nearly violently-- not to mention Emily's blood kept soaking through his clothes, leaving him uncomfortable and sticky.

After finding a room where he could place the body, Chris set up to rearrange her the way they needed her to be-- knees pulled against her chest, hands covering her face, head bowed down-- he even went as far as hiding as much blood as he could, to not raise Mike's suspicions immediately.

Satisfied with the set-up, Chris left the door open so that Mike would wander in, and did the same to the second door so that when Mike would pull back and look up, he would see straight to the morgue.

His share of the work done, Chris left the room with one last glance at Emily's body before wandering over to the entrance where he sat to wait for Josh.

***

Josh had needed to make a slight detour to the control room once more in order to release the clasps that held Matt's hands in place and after a bit of careful consideration he took the moment to tear apart the wiring that fed power into the electric chair. The last thing he wanted to do was electrocute himself by accident while grabbing Matt's thoroughly roasted body. After making sure that nothing else hinted towards his identity in the room he set off once more to the room housing the dark skinned youth's lifeless corpse. 

The smell was intense and immediately noticeable as he entered to room, enough to make Josh cringe and nearly step into the throw up that Emily had left prior to running off. He hadn't expected there to be a smell of roasted flesh but in hindsight it kind of made sense given how much heat electricity generated. As he pulled the dead man out of the chair he actually gagged at the smell, a mixture of dead flesh and what Matt had released from his bowels and bladder when he died making it a greatly unpleasant experience. 

Opting for the front entrance given how immediately noticeable it was, Josh arrived there shortly after Chris arrived, offering the blond a small smile as he set out their former friends body right in the center of the main entrance hall. While Matt's body was nowhere near as bloody as Emily's had been, he still took a moment to wipe off the blood that had spilled from the deceased man's mouth and onto his clothing. 

"Alright! Now, I figure we'll enter through the hatch out back ourselves while Mike uses the front entrance here. After you lure him within sight of the place you should be able to slip around and down the hatch to meet me. I'll leave the door to the room I'm in slightly open so you know which one it is." 

In truth, Josh was actually pretty nervous about this one. Chris wasn't the athletic type and he would be doing a lot of chasing Mike around. Still, so long as the rifle that Mike had in the guest house didn't have any actual bullets the younger man SHOULD be fine. If he messed up and Mike got him, well, Josh would make sure that the younger brunette would suffer before taking back his beloved blond.

"Here goes nothing, then." Chris replied smiling a bit, hoping it would be enough to convince the older boy that he was ready to do this, when in reality he had no idea if he could handle it. What if something went wrong, what if Mike decided to fight back with his fists?

That would turn ugly really fast.

But this was their only shot at this, and time was ticking. They had to get going.

"Lead him here, sneak in through the back, the room with the door ajar." He recounted, nodding his head. "Got it."

"It should take him about five minutes to figure out what the hell is going on, get dressed and grab the rifle. By then I'll be have made it to the mines and tossed Jess into the elevator. I intend to mess with her a bit but it shouldn't take more then three or so minutes once I've got her there to finish her off." Josh explained as they walked through the mines, taking the chance to point out the landmarks of the path they were taking, pausing only to take a quick detour to a small room near the entrance to drop off the bag. 

They would have time to dump it later.

"Chase him around a little bit before taking him to the mines so I have a chance to drag her body there. If he gets too close use the shotgun to freak him out." Pressing the shotgun into his best friends hands, Josh knew too well that by giving Chris the gun he would be heading into this unarmed, yet given Jess' size he didn't really expect much trouble.

They arrived at the outskirts of the guest cabin after around fifteen twenty minutes. The lack of light and sound told Josh that the pair were still asleep, which was a comfort as he slipped out the spare key to the guest cabin from his own overalls, the wind tossing the dark hair of his mask as he slid it onto his face. "...Chris... if this is too much for you... I can do it myself you know... you can go back and wait at the bottom for Jess' body. It'll be exhausting but I am capable of doing this alone..." Josh said gently, unsure why he was bringing this up now and not while they were in the mines.

Chris shook his head immediately at the offer, tightening his hold of the shotgun. "I'll be fine, let's just get this over with, alright?" 

He wasn't quite sure why he was so determined to do this. Perhaps a part of him wanted to show Josh that he could be trusted, that he could handle his part of the plan since he was the one who got them there in the first place.

Or perhaps a part of him worried that Josh would break down at the sight of Mike, giving the other brunette an upper hand in the whole situation.

He gave Josh a tiny smile before tugging the mask back over his head, before nodding once again. They were going to do this.

"I'll head in and grab Jess then make for the mines. Stay hidden in the shadows until he starts heading down the path. If it looks like he really is going to get you then shoot him. I'd sooner lose a chance at elaborate revenge than lose you." Giving the blond haired youth's shoulder a soft squeeze, Josh allowed the touch to linger before making his way into the cabin.

The logs in the fire still burned ever so slightly, but there was no sign of the young couple anywhere in the kitchen or living room meaning that they had retreated to the bed for that night. With the key to the cabin carefully stashed away in his pocket, Josh made sure to check the drawers for any actual rifle bullets that he might have missed. When his search came up empty handed he finally made his move towards the bedroom. 

The floor creaked slightly as he walked and the pale moonlight that filtered in through the window set an eerie scene as he made his way down the hall. Ironic that he would find himself getting slightly spooked when he was the killer. Had Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers ever felt a slight shiver run down their spines when they stalked their prey? Probably not. 

Jessica and Mike were indeed slumbering peacefully in the bed, their clothing scattered on the floor in a messy trail that led to the bed. The scent of sweat and sex still managed to linger despite it no doubt having been a while since they had gotten busy. It took a lot of effort not to gag and give himself away as he moved to the side of bed where Jess lay slumbering, fortunately in the side closest to the door.

Counting down from ten in his head, Josh inhaled sharply through his nose before suddenly grabbing hold of the girl's arm and pulling her roughly from the bed. It took only a minute before the cabin was alight with sound and action, Jess letting out a scream as Josh hoisted her naked body up and over his good shoulder, Mike snapping up out of the bed but still too groggy to realize what was going on as Josh quickly darted off with his terrified girlfriend. 

Jessica was not nearly as heavy as Matt had been but she was still a full grown woman who happened to be struggling very fiercely. Her arms clung to anything she could as he quickly made his way out of the cabin, already feeling winded even though he had only just started his trip to the mines. 

"LET ME GO! MIKE HELP! MIIIIIIIIKE!" Jess's screaming pierced his ears in the worst possible way, but Josh ignored it as he finally got outside, not pausing to give Chris and signal as he immediately made off towards the mines. 

The path was slippery, dark and difficult, but Josh knew it like the back of his hand. He had even practiced this very run a couple of times before with a sack of flour just to make sure he would be capable of it when the time finally came. Still, it took him longer then he would have liked to finally get to the elevator, tossing the naked girl inside and pressing the switch that closed the doors. The buttons inside had been removed and relocated to the control panel he now stood before and with the creaking noise of the door closing behind her Jess' fate was sealed.

"Good evening Jessica. I trust you enjoyed your most recent night with Mr. Munroe?" Turning away from the control panel, Josh grinned behind his mask as he watched the girl try to decide whether to hide her bare privates or try and open the doors.

Their discussion had been brief. Josh had seen no reason to keep up the façade when Jessica was already as good as dead so he had immediately slipped the mask off the second he was sure she was locked inside. Her shock had been amusing at first, the girl briefly thinking that this was all some sick prank that he was playing on her only to quickly realize that the blood on Josh's clothing was very real and her attitude changed completely. She pleaded for her life, begging Josh to let her live and offering him any kind of sexual favor he could think of, a fruitless offer that had Josh sneering at her.

Jess was whore and he told her as such. Told her she was disgusting and Josh couldn't think of anyone he would want to sleep with less to which she had the gall to bring up how she was more then enough to catch Mike when Hannah and Emily could not. 

That had been the last straw and Josh had deemed it time to silence her for good. With a flip of a switch, the elevator began its last trip down, the sound as it plummeted down the mine was the instrumental accompaniment to Jessica's last horrified screams. When the ground shook and the sound of bone, flesh, stone and metal colliding hit his ears, the smile on his face was massive. 

***

It was rather amusing to watch a half dressed Mike burst out of the cabin, a rifle in his hands like Josh had warned him he could have. Seemed like the other boy had some kind of sense in his head, too bad it would not do much for him.

Not allowing Mike to start running after Josh and Jessica just yet, Chris stepped out of the shadows and grinned behind the mask at the shocked expression on Mike's face. Clearly the other believed there only to be one psycho, as he started to demand about Jessica's whereabout immediately.

Instead of responding, Chris lifted his gun and walked closer to Mike, causing him to spur into action and take another path down the mountain.

The cat and mouse chase continued for a rather long time, with Chris shooting warning shots whenever Mike would try to take a path that would lead him into Sanitarium too quickly, and Mike in turn cursing loudly and shouting for Jessica.

A part of him felt joy at the knowledge he was calling out to a dead girl.

But eventually Chris had no other choice but to allow Mike to run the way they needed him to, slipping back into the shadows as soon as Mike spotted the Sanitarium and started his way towards the lit building.

The blond collapsed on the ground gasping, his legs feeling like jelly and breath coming out labored. His cheek ached where Mike had managed to land a punch, taking the blond by surprise as the older boy had jumped him from behind the corner. He could already feel the skin swell slightly, and hissed as he pushed himself back to his feet.

The trip back to the Sanatorium was an unpleasant one. Hannah and Beth continued their tormenting of him, telling him that he needed to kill Chris or else things would be ruined. That the blond would not be able to succeed and was only a hindrance to the plan, something that he responded to with sharp but firm responses of no every time. 

Mike was already in the Sanitarium by the time Chris sneaked inside from the backdoor just as the other brunette had started screaming, which hopefully meant that Mike had found Matt. That would mean that the other man had not found the others yet, which meant that he had hopefully done his part of the plan correctly.

His thoughts were confirmed once he slipped through the slightly parted door to find Josh waiting for him, the relief obvious on the blond's posture as he breathed out slowly. "I take it everything went well on your end?" Chris asked pulling the mask away from his face, glad to be breathing fresh air instead of the warm air inside the mask.

In an instant the older man had closed the distance, his own mask pulled away and his green eyes filled with concern as he took in the damage. "Holy shit. What did that asshole do to you?!" Josh hissed, tanned fingers gently cupping the uninjured side of Chris' face so he could get a better look.

The blond didn't seem to be sporting any other injuries aside from the bruise to his face but that didn't matter. The mere fact that Mike had hurt Chris filled Josh with such an intense rage that he nearly grabbed the pistol from the blond and stalked the younger brunette down right then and there. 

Gently, his fingers pulled away from Chris' cheek to move to run over his neck and shoulders, massaging the tense flesh absentmindedly as he tried to help the slightly out of breath man calm down after his long run. "Jess is dead. Mike will be too. Everything is fine and you're safe. Everything is fine." Whispering the words softly to himself, Josh's green eyes were once more glazed over as his hands began to run over the figure of the man in front him, needing to feel the Chris under his fingertips to confirm that the blond was indeed safe and with him. 

"We're going to make him pay. For hurting Hannah. For killing my sisters. For hurting you. I'll make him pay and suffer and then I'll kill him." His voice cracked as he spoke the last sentence, eyes wild and unable to focus. He was about to say more when the sound of Mike's voice was heard in the distance, talking to Emily. When the cry of shock and horror followed Josh had to bury his face in the younger man's shoulder to hide his laughter. 

"...it's almost over."

"We need to go there." Chris murmured quietly, dropping the mask on the table. They could pick it up on their way back, but there was no way he'd wear it again when he felt like he could not breathe with it on.

"Do you want to go first? I'll catch up with you soon enough, give Mike some hope like I could save him, before crushing him even more."

"Sounds like a plan." Pulling gently away from the younger man, Josh pressed a chaste kiss to Chris' neck as he did so. "I'll leave it up to you to decide when to come in. Just... give me a little bit in order to get him tied up. I don't want to risk you getting hit again." With another gentle brush of his fingers against the younger man's cheeks he turned to grab hold of something he had found hidden away during one of his previous visits to the Sanatorium.

A pair of handcuffs. 

No doubt they had once belonged to keep some nutter from tearing out the throats of the staff while he was transported their, but their most likely final use would serve the opposite purpose, enabling Josh and Chris to kill Mike. Twirling the rusted metal with his finger, he flashed Chris one last bright smile before slipping his mask on and moving silently to the door just as Mike brushed past them into the morgue. 

The sound of the younger brunettes cry as he recognized the mangled body on the table was enough to make Josh's heart leap for joy as he silently entered the room, slinking through the shadows to come to a stand behind the younger man. He waited for just a second before surging forward, grabbing Mikes arm and slapping the cuffs around his wrist before locking the others in place against one of the 'shelf' doors.

"Hello Michael. I'm glad you could finally join me."

"You sick nutter! You absolute shite! What the heck are you doing, why are you doing this?!" Mike cried out, his free hand hoovering over Jessica's body-- or what was left of it. "Jess, oh god, Jessica!"

Stepping forward, Josh quickly slammed his foot against the stomach of the younger man as his anger flared up at the former class presidents insults. "Shut up! You're the one who is shite! The whole lot of you were nothing but a bunch of sadistic jerks!" A second kick was landed before Josh pulled away, stepped back as he slowly slipped the mask off his face, revealing his identity to the primary source of all his misery.

"Your stupid prank took Hannah and Beth from me, Mike. You, Jess, Emily, Matt and Ashley killed my sisters. It's only fair that I give you all some payback, don't you think?" Moving in a bit closer, Josh's eyes were already glossing over as his mind swiftly took a turn into the unstable. This was not the same person that Mike had seen earlier that night. There was no playful glimmer or teasing in his voice. Just a harsh, all encompassing hatred.

His lips curled into a wicked smile as he shoved the mangled body of Jess onto the ground beside Mike, laughing at the wet splat it made before he climbed up onto the table and sat just out of Mike's reach. "If it makes you feel any better, she offered to let me fuck her if I spared her life. I didn't of course, because she's a backstabbing whore, but at least you can know that you weren't the only one trying to cheat in your relationship."

"Josh?" The name came out as a choked breath from Mike's lips, confusion replaced by disbelief, betrayal and honest to god, fear. This was not the Josh they all had grown to know. The look in those green eyes were too wild, too maniac to be described as anything else than insane.

"You killed her? You killed all of them? What the fuck Josh?! Have you completely lost your mind?!"

"You know... now that you mention it. Probably. Yeah." Nodding his head, Josh found himself smiling as he admitted the younger man that he was indeed rather messed up in the head. "It certainly would explain a lot now wouldn't it? Like the voices of my dead sisters who have been tormenting me consistently in and out of my dreams for the past year. Also thanks for you know, never bothering to give me a call and ask if I was okay after your stupid killed my sisters. I appreciated the concern." 

"It was a prank, Josh! A stupid prank that lead into a chain of fate we had nothing to do with!"

"You know... funny you should say that. Because see... I didn't come here planning to kill you guys. I actually planned out this whole big elaborate prank that would have you guys thinking the dead body of one of the patients here was possessed by my sisters and was chasing after you guys for revenge over what happened. You'd all meet up here and Sammy would show up and reveal that it was me the whole time, then I'd tell you all to get the fuck off my mountain and then jump myself into the same damn ditch my sisters were found in." 

Tapping the key thoughtfully against his palm, Josh pursed his lips thoughtfully, eyes looking around the room for a little bit before carrying on. "But see... something happened. A crazy little chain of events that I had no part in... and Ashley died." His mouth lingered open, his expression still contemplative. "And then I got to thinking. Why should I be the one who ends up dead at the end of this? It was YOUR prank that chased my sisters out into the storm after all. You guys were the ones who weren't passed out drunk on the table and completely unaware of what was happening. I mean, Sammy did admit to telling you specifically not to go out there, but Sammy is a good person and made an active effort stop your bullshit, so I don't hold that against her. Which is probably why she's currently bundled up unconscious at the bottom of the mountain in a billion blankets to keep her warm and not you."

"That's insane, you're insane!" Mike snapped, trying to tug himself free once again. The more he heard, the clearer it was that there was no talking himself out of this situation. Josh had completely lost it, and with the direction the conversation had gone, he knew he'd die as well.

"What about Chris, huh? Did you kill him too? For fucks sake, Josh!" The brunette shook his head wildly, as if refusing to believe that Josh would do something like this, like he expected to wake up from a bad dream at any moment now.

The sound of the door opening snapped Mike out of his thoughs, and the sight of Chris-- despite being covered in blood-- brought immense relief to the older man. "Chris, thank god man, he listens to you, talk to him! Make him stop this insanity!" Mike begged, watching Chris walk closer to the pair. Yet instead of talking to Josh, or releasing him from the cuffs, Chris pulled his hand back before connecting his fist with Mike's cheek.

It was hard to say who suffered more, Mike both from pain and surprise, or Chris who pulled his hand against his chest, rubbing his knuckles with a small hiss. "Payback's a bitch, isn't it?" The blond asked tapping the bruise on his own cheek, a small smile spreading on his lips. "Should not have done it, Mike."

"Fuck Chris... don't tell me he hurt you again..." Sliding off the table, Josh made his way over to the younger man, finger tenderly taking the hand that had just been used to punch Mike and gently removing the glove so that he could examine Chris' knuckles. Sure, the blond still had some playfulness in him but that didn't mean he wasn't still injured.

With all the tenderness of a mother for her child, Josh lifted the injured hand to softly press gentle kisses to each bruised knuckle, the presence of the younger brunette forgotten in his desire to sooth his partners injury. It was only when he was satisfied that he returned the younger man's hand to the glove, though his touch continued to linger.

"Seems like the elevator did good job on her." The blond added glancing down at the mangled body of Jessica, lips curling in a pleased smile. "How about it Mike, still want to fuck her? I bet she'd want it."

Mike's head must have been reeling pretty hard from the punch. There was absolutely no way in hell was Chris standing there letting Josh slowly kiss his knuckles like that. Yet as the stars cleared and he watched as the older man continued to dote upon the younger he came to the sick realization. Chris had been in on it the whole time. Not to mention from the look in his eyes and the sick, twisted smile on his face as he commented on Jessica that he was just as unstable as Josh was at this point.

"God Chris. What did he DO to you?!" Struggling against the handcuffs, the younger of the two brunettes looked at Chris was a horrified expression upon his handsome face. "Don't you give a shit that our friends are dead?! Ashley, Chris! Ashley! The girl you spent several years fawning after! She's dead!" 

Speaking of Josh, the oldest of the men present still hadn't removed his touch from Chris' skin, his dark eyes distant as he reveling in the close contact. Without thinking he slid the clasps of the younger man's overalls undone and watched the upper half of the garment slipping down without the straps to hold it up. Gently, he ran his finger over the exposed collar line, the desire to push the overalls down even further and run his hands over bare skin hitting hard and completely out of nowhere.

Mike's uncomfortable squirming as his accusations that Josh had done something to Chris snapped him out of his daydreaming and immediately his eyes went alive with fury. Pulling away from his partner in crime the young man snarled at their captive. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! I didn't do anything! I didn't! I love him! I wouldn't do anything to him! I did this to protect him! To protect US!" Pacing the room, Josh let out several almost animalistic snarls towards the now very surprised Mike before suddenly drawing in so close to the bound man that they could literally feel each other's breaths.

"I won't let anyone take him from me! Not the police! Not Ashley! And especially not you! He's mine! Mine! MINE!" Letting out a hysterical laugh, Josh didn't expect the sudden punch from Mike's free hand.

Chris lurched forward at the sound of his partner crying out in pain, his hands hoovering over Josh's face, his shoulders in obvious concern. "Josh, Josh are you alright?" The other panicked, fingers trembling a bit as his fingers brushed against the older man's chin lightly.

"It hurts. There's blood. I'm bleeding." Josh stated dumbly, shock and pain in his eyes. While the wound was minor and would no doubt stop bleeding in a couple of minutes it still took him by surprise how much fight Mike still had in.

"You're a freak Josh!" Mike snapped, voice mixed with fear, anger and just a hint of grief. Once more his gaze turned towards Chris, hoping the blond was able to see just how wrong this was. "Chris... please. Man you have to know this isn't right. Come on..."

"How dare you?! You're not supposed to touch him, you're not supposed to hurt him! Not anymore, you've done enough harm, you _can't_ touch him!" It was obvious the blond was growing distressed from the fact that Josh was hurt, and he could not protect him from it. He should have seen it coming, he should have been there for Josh.

With the straps not holding the overalls upon him properly, the jeans hung low on Chris' hips as he stalked closer to Mike, grabbing his hair harshly. "I know Ashley's dead, Mike. I was the one who killed her." He added smirking lightly, tightening his grip of the other.

"So it's your fault that this all happened then. You killed Ashley and ruined Josh's original plan?" Letting out an incredulous laugh, the former class president could help but find some ironic humor in the situation. The person that Josh trusted the most had ended up ruining him. The stress of the current situation caused Mike's own mind to briefly take a step into hysterical as he spit out his next words with a sharp, accusatory tone. "He's gone all psychotic killer because of you!"

"What are you--"

No, but Mike's words rang close to truth, didn't they? Josh had wanted to scare their friends, had wanted to make them feel as humiliated and desperate like his sisters had felt. Killing them had never been the plan.

That's where Chris had fucked up, he had blacked out and killed someone, and dragged Josh down with him in this madness he had created.

He was to blame about Josh's health, he was to blame about Josh's guilt and pain.

The blond stumbled back from Mike like he had been punched, shaky fingers tearing through the light strands of hair as the young man curled slightly in himself, eyes wide as he stared at the stony floor. "My fault, all my fault. I did wrong, I pulled him down, oh my god." Chris choked, squeezing his eyes shut.

"I need to give myself over. I-I can't make him go through this, I admit I did it, get taken away but he gets to be free, I pushed him into it." 

Once he started muttering, there was no way for him to stop. The blond kept pacing around in small circles, talking about his own guiltiness and leaving Josh, how Mike was right and how he could not have seen it before.

Soon enough tears broke out, falling the young man's cheeks as he turned to look at Josh in agony. "It's my fault, it's all my fault. I'm so sorry."

Josh felt so many things at that moment that he truthfully could do little more then stare as the scene played out before him. Somewhere deep inside even he knew the words Mike had spoken to be true. It was the blond haired youth's fault that things had gone from sadistic prank to outright murder. Had it not been for Chris then nobody would have died today.

No. No no no no! That was a lie! A filthy lie! Mike was trying to take Chris from him. Beautiful, sweet Chris who had tried so hard to protect Josh, who in turn would not have needed protecting had the man before them not killed his sisters. 

A burning, searing rage shot through him and a growl escaped his lips as his hands shot out to grab hold of the youngest of their group, pulling Chris flush against him as he pressed his lips fiercely to those of the blond. Mike cannot have him. Mike cannot take Chris from him, be it through his lies or through his actions. Josh had come so far to keep Chris close, even going so far as to deny his sister's Chris' life. He would not lose him now!

The kiss was rough, fierce and dominating, with Josh offering the younger man little room to deny him as his tongue forced its way past lips and teeth, taking everything he could and denying his partner the ability to say anything more about leaving him. Blood and saliva mixed as Josh's eyes slid tightly shut, his fingers tearing into clothing in an attempt to get to skin as quickly as possible. From somewhere behind them Mike gasped in shock and disgust, but Josh paid him no mind. 

Having to wrench himself back when air became a necessity, Josh's eyes were filled with that dark look that had not been directed at Chris since that night at the Washington family mansion. "Shut up. Shut up! You're mine Chris. I'm not letting you go anywhere. I'm not letting him take you from me." His eyes snapped towards Mike, his grip on Chris still just as tight as ever even as he slid around the blond, pushing them both closer the other brunette.

Fingers slid over the young man's neck, gripping Chris's chin and forcing him to look Mike in the face while Josh peered over his shoulder, free hand dragging the overall's down until gravity took hold and the garment slid to rest at his best friends ankles. "Look at him, Mike. He's mine! I won't let you take him from me like you took Hannah and Beth! I won't! He's mine. All mine! He needs me and I need him. We're all each other needs!" Josh snapped sharply as his fingers slid up and under Chris' shirt. 

"I'll prove it... I'll make you both understand..." Mumbling softly against the skin of Chris' neck, he pressed several gentle kisses against the pale skin as he released the younger man's chin to descend lower over the body before him, ultimately coming to grab hold of the zipper of Chris' pants. "I'll make you feel so good you won't ever leave me..." He whispers so only Chris can hear, though in truth it was probably a statement made more to himself then his friend.

"Josh...." The other's name came from his lips as a breathless pant, eyes already glasses over from both pleasure and confusion. No one had never kissed him like Josh just had, rough, hard and possessive. It left the younger's mind reeling, heart beating faster yet the rest of him felt surprisingly numb.

As if his body and mind fought over what the appropriate reaction to the situation would be.

Still, the touches continued and the blond dropped his head against Josh's shoulder, tongue feeling heavy in his mouth. It felt as if he was drugged or very drunk, when everything felt like he was watching it happen from the sidelines, when nothing made sense yet everything he felt or needed could be pinpointed on the brunette holding him up.

"Josh... what are you doing...?"

The sound of Chris' zipper being pulled down echoed dramatically in the room, followed quickly by Josh's hurried attempts at unclasping the button. Chris wasn't pushing him away. In fact he was leaning against Josh as if he wanted him to continue. To touch him. To prove to Mike that Chris was in fact all Josh's and there was nothing the younger brunette could do about it.

"Showing him you're mine. It'll be alright. I love you. I'll make you feel good. He'll see and you'll see that I'm all you need. That way... you won't ever leave me. Not for him. Not for anybody..." 

The answer came out so naturally and so sincerely that it became painfully obvious that Josh desperately needed Chris. The blond was his entire world now and he absolutely had to make sure that his friend knew that. Knew that Josh would do anything for him if it meant that Chris would stay with him. He also needed to make sure Mike knew that Chris was his and nothing that he could say would result in Josh relinquishing his hold on the blond. 

The fingers that were under Chris' shirt trailed up to gently pinch at a nipple, rolling it teasingly between his thumb and forefinger as his gaze locked onto Mike's face. He could see the way the younger man was trying not to look, not to watch as Josh staked his claim over the blond, and he growled in response. 

"Look at us you prick! Look! See how he's letting me touch him?! You can't do that! Only me!" Josh snapped, just as his fingers snaked into Chris' boxers to wrap around his cock, stroking the organ with firm but careful twists of his wrist. He wanted to make Chris feel good. Prove to all of them that he could be the only thing Chris needed.

It was hard not to look at what was happening. Josh's action commanded Mike's attention in much the same way a train wreck would. It was horrible and tragic but somehow he could not tear his eyes away from the two men in front of him. Which judging from the smirk on Josh's face seemed to be exactly what he wanted. 

Josh might have well pulled the blond out of his pants at this point as the movement that could be seen in the youngest of the three men's boxers left little to the imagination, especially when Chris' body responded to the touch and began to tent the cloth alongside Josh's hand. Everything about it was so wrong. From the insane glimmer in Josh's eyes to the glassed over look in Chris'. Neither of them were in the right state of mind to be doing something like this.

"Josh stop it... this is... this is messed up. I get it. Chris and you need each other. You love him. I can't take him from you. I GET it! You don't need to sexually assault Chris just to prove your point!" Mike managed to say, watching as some semblance of clarity returned to Josh's eyes as it donned on him what he was doing.

"Sexually... assault?" The fingers wrapped around Chris' cock stilled and the hand that had been gently playing with the blonde's nipple slid out of his friends shirt. The grip on his arm was tight and the body pressed against his warm, but was it willing? Fear shot through Josh at the thought that maybe Mike was right. Maybe Chris didn't want this. He didn't say no, true, but that didn't automatically mean yes either.

"He doesn't want you Josh. He's never going to want you." Hannah's voice echoed in his ears, her laughter a cruel backdrop to his confusion and uncertainty. "The sooner you realize this the easier it will be for you."

"...no... no... he does... he... he wants it." Green eyes snapped shut and Josh's face tilted so that he could press his nose against Chris' hair, taking in the scent of the shampoo he used. Josh's shampoo. "...Chris...? You... want this right? You want me...?"

"Mike's doing it again." The blond whispered quietly, lips brushing against Josh's jaw. "He's trying to pull us apart again but we won't let him, will we?" He asked closing his eyes with a quiet sigh. He needed Josh, he wanted Josh... but how those thoughts mixed together with the already broken mind left him feeling nothing like an empty puppet, whose strings were in Josh's hands.

Josh was distressed.

He had to help his friend. Make him happy.

"I need you, Josh."

Hannah's voice went silent as Chris uttered those four simple words. No. Chris' didn't love him. But he needed him. He wanted him. 

That was more then enough for Josh.

The hand that was wrapped around Chris cock removed itself, only so that Josh could pull off the thick gloves that separated him from touching actual skin, before returning with renewed vigor. The cock in his hand was hard and hot, throbbing under each firm stroke or teasing brush of his thumb against the head. It was the cock that Josh had only ever dreamed of touching and now that it was in his hand he couldn't help but let out an excited moan of his own. 

"I love you. I need you... I need you so much." 

Chris' body was wound tight like a bow, his mouth hanging open as Josh continued to play him in a way that suggested the brunette knew all his weak spots. Each twist of a wrist tore a keening moan from pink lips, each pinch or rub against his nipple earned Josh a hitch of breath or a breathless curse before Chris would push himself closer to Josh's petting. The older man was unwinding him quickly, Chris' legs starting to tremble as keeping himself up became a fight when all he wanted to do was keel over and have Josh completely ravage him.

Instead he tilted his head back a bit, nose nudging against Josh's cheek, panting hotly against the other's skin. "Bite me." The blond requested nibbling on his own lower lip, fingers grabbing a hold of Josh's hair. "Mark me, make me yours."

"Yeah. Okay, anything for you. Anything you want." Josh whispered, nudging Chris head so that he could more easily bury his face against the bare skin of his neck. Once more he was accosted with the scent of the younger man, a unique scent that was now mixed with that of blood, dirt, sweat and Josh's expensive soap. 

The mix of pain and pleasure that shot through him the moment Josh bit down on the space between his neck and shoulder tore a cry of pleasure from Chris' lips, the sound echoing from the walls as his hips jerked up against Josh's hand. His mind had completely clouded over, thoughts revolving around Josh and Josh alone. Fingers gripped a tight hold of the brunette's hair, eyes slamming shut as he gave himself over to his friend.

"Josh-- fuck Josh, please--" The blond begged breathlessly, his voice breaking as the pleasure peaked, made him tremble and scramble for purchase from the older male.

"I love you, Chris. I love you. I need you. Only you. Forever." The words were mumbled frantically against the younger man's neck, Josh's green eyes briefly locking with Mike's and reminding him that the younger man was watching. Watching Chris lose himself to Josh. Watching Chris become Josh's. His tone tinted with something dark and possessive at that moment, his fingers twisting in a way that all but demanded the other to orgasm.

"You're mine."

Pleasure soon peaked, crashing over the blond in a way that had his body spasming, a surprised cry leaving his lips as he spilled over Josh's hand. For a moment, Chris was nothing but pleasure filled nerves, white dots dancing before his eyes, his own pulse loud in his ears.

Then he slumped down against Josh sobbing, body trembling against the other's as he fought to catch his breath. The pleasure had been intense, blinding even, leaving Chris unable to do anything else than to cling on Josh.

Josh continued to stroke out the last remnants of his best friend's orgasm even after the blond had slumped against him, draining the cock in his hands as the one under Chris' shirt shifted lower to gently wrap around the blonde's waist. "You're incredible. Wonderful. You're so beautiful, Chris." More kisses were peppered to the younger man's skin as he guided them both to the unused morgue table.

Mike swallowed thickly, brown eyes wide and still locked on the scene playing out before him. His ability to speak was gone, mouth hanging open as Josh shows just how gone from reality he had become. There was no denying that Josh still held a deep affection for the blond haired man in his arms, but Chris seemed more in the mindset of being Josh's toy than his lover. It was sickening and uncomfortable.

Every single touch was done as if Chris might break under his fingers. Every word that the brunette uttered as he gently lay the still shuddering blond down to rest upon that bloody table was filled with love and adoration. 

Slipping Chris back into his pants and slipping the overalls back to cover the shivering body, Josh leaned forward to press a soft kiss to Chris' lips before turning back towards Mike. Stepping forward, Josh's green eyes turned wicked as he moved to kneel just out of range of Mike's fist, smirking as he lifted his cum covered fingers to his lips. "See. He's mine. All. Mine."

"You sick fuck." Mike breathed out horrified, wide eyes filled with discomfort and horror as he stared at the man who used to be his friend. 

"He's not in the right mind to deny you! You used him, Josh! And for what, to prove me I can't take him? I never wanted him, why would I want him?" Mike asked laughing nearly hysterically.

Rage shot through Josh's eyes, his foot landing another blow to Mike's stomach as he pulled back to fetch his gloves, cleaning off the cum with his mouth before slipping them back on. From Chris' pocket he pulled the pistol, checking the contents before returning to Mike.

"I asked him. He said he needed me. I didn't use him." Josh said slowly, eyes dark and unreadable as he settled down across from the younger brunette. The gun in his hand was the very same one that had been used to end the life of Emily and Ashley. Chris' weapon. The very weapon that had heralded in this madness.

"Did you want Hannah, Mike?" He asked suddenly, turning the gun around in his hands, eyes glued to the piece of metal. "You took her from me. And Beth. Did you want Beth?" His voice was soft, a tint of sadness lingering there. The sadness of a big brother who failed to protect his sisters from the big bad wolf that had gobbled them up. Switching away from his sisters, he shifted his gaze over to Jess's mangled body. "Or Em and Jess. Did you really want them either?"

Stepping in closer, Josh's gaze continued to remain unreadable. "You're hardly the guy who is in the position to talk about using another. Don't you think? Especially considering how you played those two like fiddles. At least I love Chris. Can you honestly say you ever loved anyone but yourself?"

"I'm like any other man my age, Josh. Some of us sleep around before settling down, I'm hardly the first nor the last to do that." Mike snapped, gaze following Josh and the gun the older man had picked up from Chris.

"The prank was not my idea in the first place, it was Jessica who wanted to 'look after' Emily or some shit like that. I just went with it." He added, lifting his head up a bit. "You two are the ones who killed people on purpose, you're the sickos and you deserve each other. But once the cops catch you, you're going to he pulled apart." 

Again, the younger man laughed. "You're going to be placed in different padded cells and never see each other again! And that's the punishment you get for what you did."

"The cops won't catch us." Josh snapped, glaring at Mike as a growing sense of paranoia filled him. He knew he couldn't promise that. He knew that they would be the primary suspects. Yet they had time. Plenty of time to take care of everything and a mine that only Josh knew the secrets of. "The mines are massive but I know them all. We have enough bullets to last us weeks if necessary. In couple of hours the snow will have covered up all our tracks." 

"We'll come up with a story. A solid one that explains what happened. Chris will play the traumatized boy forced to shoot the girl he liked and I'll tell some story about finding Sam in the snow and carrying her back down the mountain before going to find the rest of the group, only to find myself trapped in the mines until Chris stumbles in while hiding from the killer." Waving his free hand, Josh shrugged, not yet pleased with the details of their story but already working on it. 

"That's besides the point. We aren't talking about Chris or I. We're talking about what a piece of shit YOU are." Flicking off the safety of his gun, Josh aimed the weapon towards Mike's crotch. "I wonder what kind of sounds you'd make if I shoot it off..."

Mike's response died on his tongue as soon as the gun was pointed at his crotch. His legs crossed out of instinct, the brunette trying to put as much of his legs between his crotch and Josh's gun, while giving the other a disbelieving, terrified look.

"Look Josh, there's no need for any of this. You can take Chris and leave, go to the mines or whatever the heck you're planning to do. Just leave me here, don't do anything you might regret."

Laughter erupted from Josh's lips at Mike's last line. It was a mad hysterical laughter that filled the room with an unsettling vibe in its mixture of sincere amusement and insanity. "Something I'd regret? Why would I EVER regret shooting you, Mike? You're trash. A pig with no respect for the girls you messed around with. No respect for the people you hurt with your little games."

The look in Josh's eyes as he sneered at the younger man was one of disgust and hatred, but also great sadness. "You could have done something. You could have told Jess you wanted no part in her little prank. But you didn't and for what? A chance to catch sight of some boob?" Crystalline tears began to well in the older man's eyes at the thought. Mike could have stopped it. The prank never would have happened if Mike had the empathy needed to say no. 

"I had to watch my baby sisters be put into the ground because of the fact you couldn't keep your dick in check!" The sound of the gun split the air as Josh uttered those words. The shaking of his hand made him miss his mark, landing a shot into Mike's thigh that was painful but not lethal.

The cry that echoed in the room was filled with shock and pain, Mike's body lurching backwards only to be stopped by the handcuff around his wrist. The injured leg buckled underneath him, sending Mike crashing on the floor on his knees, arm pulled up with the cuff awkwardly.

"Fuck, what the fuck Josh?! Fuck! Fucking sonofa--!"

Blood pulsed out of the wound, the burning pain enough to make him feel dizzy, heart hammering faster as the brunette approached the line of having a panic attack. "What do you want me to say?! That I'm sorry?! I'm sorry, Josh! But this won't bring your sisters back!"

"No... it won't. Nothing will bring them back..." Josh admitted softly, lowering the gun so that it rested at his side as he watched Mike squirm in pain. "Killing you. Killing everyone wasn't meant to bring them back. It was... it was to protect Chris. I need to protect him, Mike." Lifting the gun again, Josh fired a second bullet into the younger man's other thigh, his eyes turning glassy as his emotions shut down save for the necessity of protecting the still recovering blond.

"I failed to protect my sisters from you and the others, but I won't fail him. I can't. I can't lose him too, Mike. I need him. I need him enough to do whatever is necessary to keep him by my side." A third shot was fired, this time in the brunette's upper right shoulder. By now, the three bullet holes would be more then enough to kill Mike, yet Josh raised it again. 

"I just wanted you to know before you died that this was your fault. You could have saved everyone if only you had been a man and not a beast. You could have saved yourself, Jess, Emily, Ashley and Matt. You could have saved Hannah and Beth." A pause as he sets his aim upon the man's crotch once more, frowning, gaze emotionless as his finger rested upon the trigger. 

"You could have saved us."

The bullet shot sliced into the younger man's genitals, no doubt causing enough pain to cause him to black out. Which was fine. Josh was finished with him anyway. He didn't need to see the life fade from Mike's eyes to know the younger man would be dead before the police arrived.

Chris' steps were quiet as he joined the brunette, a gentle hand pressing on the other's lower back to alert the possibly numb man. Watching from the side had been a good idea, it had given Josh the opportunity to literally unload his pain on the culprit which could hopefully help him fight on for another day.

The other hand slid up Josh's arm, lowering them both together before his fingers curled around the gun and gently plucked it from the other's grasp. "You did good." He choked out softly, clicking the gun's safety back on before stocking it away.

His arm slid around Josh's waist pulling the other's back against his chest, lips pressing on the back of his neck gently in an action of comfort. "He can't hurt us anymore. He can't hurt anyone anymore."

A choked sob escaped Josh's lips as he turned to bury his face into Chris' shoulder. Every ounce of pain spilled out from Josh in that moment, his body shaking as millions of doubts sprouted from his mind. Everyone was dead. They were murderers. Mike was right when he called them monsters. 

He stood there for what felt like forever but was in reality only fifteen minutes, unleashing the torrent of left over emotions onto his best friends shoulder, waiting for Hannah and Beth to show up and tell him how stupid he was. Yet they never came. Their presence was completely absent from his mind for the first time since their death. Sure, they had grown silent at times, but never had they been completely gone.

They were gone. His sisters were completely and utterly gone. 

The thought tore another broken cry from his lips, his hands gripping onto the blond as he held him close, desperate to keep Chris beside him. He needed him now more then ever before. Needed to keep him safe and happy and alive. It was a sobering thought that had the tears drying far faster then Josh would admit was healthy. 

"We need... we need to start to clean up. Collect bullets and clothing and blankets. We need to make it look like we snuck the stuff from the lodge while the killer was taking care of the others. We need... we need an excuse for why one of us was stuck in the mines for a week. But... it'll be okay. We have several hours. Several hours and a lot to do but we're together and... I love you."

"We'll come up with the reason we had to remain in the mines later, let's just get in there first." The blond said, fingers cupping Josh's chin before he pressed a light kiss on those pink lips in reassurance that he was not going anywhere.

"I'll collect the bullets from here, why don't you check that we've collected the other evidence?"

"No. No. I can't... the bullets are..." Glancing towards where Mike lay dead on the ground, his eyes looked over various bullet wounds on the younger man's body. The one on his shoulder had shot clean through, but the other three were actually lodged in the man's skin.

They would actually need to pull them out.

He couldn't make Chris do that. 

"Go get the bullet that you killed Emily with and start looking around here for supplies. Blankets, matches, bullets... anything we can use to keep us alive for a week." Speaking of blankets, there was still the matter of Chris leaving too many with Sam. No, it was too late for that. Too big of a risk to go back there. Josh would just have to come up with some kind of excuse. 

Swallowing thickly, he turned his gaze towards the recently deceased Mike. 

It was going to be a long night.


End file.
